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THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH 
DAKOTA 



A DISSERTATION 

SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY 

OF THE OGDEN GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SCIENCE 

IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF 

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 

DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY 



BY 

STEPHEN SARGENT VISHER 



LC 



Private Edition, Distributed By 

THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO LIBRARIES 

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 



Reprinted from 
South Dakota State Geological Survey, Bulletin No. 
July 1918 



XLbe XHntversit^ of Cbicaao 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH 
DAKOTA 



A DISSERTATION 

SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY 

OF THE OGDEN GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SCIENCE 

IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF 

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 

DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY 



BY 

STEPHEN SARGENT VISHER 

M 



Private Edition, Distributed By 

THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO LIBRARIES 

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 



Reprinted from 

South Dakota State Geological Survey, Bulletin No. 8 

July 1918 






eift 

Tniversil^ 



The Geography 
of South Dakota 

A Detailed Discussion of the 

SURFACE, RESOURCES, CLIMATE, 

PLANTS, ANIMALS, and 

HUMAN GEOGRAPHY 

Including the HISTORY of the Area. 



A Study in Regional Geography 

By 

STEPHEN SARGENT VISHER, Ph. D. (U. of Chicago) 
United States Geological Survey 



PREFACE 

The following study is based on extensive field work and nearly 
all the available literature on the subject. The regular field work, done 
under the auspices of the State Survey, when Ellwood C. Perisho was State 
Geologist, occupied most or all of four seasons and involved reconnaissance 
work in more than three-fourths of the counties of the state and detailed 
work in several, (see the Geography, Geology, and Biology of South- 
Central South Dakota and the Biology and Bio-geography of North- 
western South Dakota, Bulls. V and VI of the State Survey.) A resi- 
dence in the state, extending over most of my life and including three 
years (1910-1913) as an instructor in the University of South Dakota, 
has greatly increased my knowledge of local conditions. Assistance in the 
field investigations was received from Dr. Perisho, then State Geologist, 
W. H. Over, Naturalist of the Survey, B. A. Iverson and Ralph W. Chaney, 
members of Survey field parties. Of the long list of publications dealing 
with the state from which facts have been obtained, special mention should 
be made of those of the first State Geologist, J. E. Todd. While writing 
the manuscript, many valuable suggestions were received from professors 
at the University of cilhicago: Dean R. D. Salisbury, especially on chapters 
I-IV, VI; Dr. W. S. Tower on chapters I, V, VII; Drs. H. C. Cowles and 
Professor J. Paul Goode on chapters VI and VII; V. E. Shelford, on 
chapter VI; and Professor H. H. Barrows on chapter VII; and also my 
wife. Few changes have been made in the manuscript since February 
1915. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Preface 3 

Table of Contents 4 

Chapter 1 — Introductory 

Geographic Location and its Significance 7 

South Dakota as a Frontier Area 7 

Shape 8 

Area 9 

Boundaries 9 

The Eastern Boundary 10 

The Western Boundary 11 

The Southern Boundary 11 

The Northern Boundary 11 

Chapter 2 — Geology 13 

Chapter 3 — ^Mineral Resources 

Artesian and Other Waters 16 

Artesian Wells 16 

Shallow Wells 19 

Springs 19 

Springs and Human Geography 20 

Mineral Waters: Streams 20 

Lakes and Ponds: Rain Water 21 

Clays and Cement Materials 21 

Clays: Cement Materials: Gypsum: Limestone 22 

Building Stones and Road Materials 22 

Granite: Porphyry 22 

Quartzite: Bowlders: Marble 23 

Limestone, Chalk: Sandstone: Sand and Gravel 23 

Mineral Fuels 24 

Coal: Natural Gas 24 

Ores in the Black Hills 24 

Gold 24 

Silver: Lead: Copper 25 

Iron: Tin: Tungsten: Manganese 26 

Miscellaneous Mineral Products 26 

Soils 26 

Cliapter 4 — Physiography 

General Features 29 

The Slope: The Relief 29 

Ruggedness: Drainage 29 

The Physiographic Provinces 31 

The Prairie Plains 32 

The Southeastern River Valleys 32 

Position: Area: Topography 32 

' The Dakota Valley 34 

Location 34 

Topography: Relief: Elevation 35 

The Coteau Regions 36 

• ' Location and Area 36 

Elevation: Drainage 37 

Glacial Lakes 37 

The Great Plains 39 

Area: Topography 39 



Elevation 41 

Bad Lands 42 

Sand Hills 43 

The Black Hills 43 

Chapter 5 — Climate 

General Characteristics 50 

Factors Determining the Climate 50 

Winds 50 

Temperature 53 

Mean Annual: Mean Monthly 53 

Mean Daily 54 

Maxima and Minima 5 5 

Daily Ranges in Temperature 56 

Diurnal Variability of Temperature 57 

Length of Growing Season 57 

The Length of the Day 58 

Humidity 59 

Evaporation 60 

Cloudiness 60 

Precipitation 60 

Annual 60 

The Sources of the Moisture 61 

Monthly Precipitation 63 

Number of Rainy Days 65 

Variability in the Amount of Precipitation 65 

Snowfall: Hail 66 

Variability of the Weather 6 6' 

Supposed Changes of Climate 67 

Chapter 6 — Bio-Geography 

Introduction 68 

Bio-Geography an Index to Geographic Conditions 70 

Bio-Geography and Human Geography 75 

Bio-Geographic Districts 77 

The Eastern Third of the State 77 

The Great Plains 78 

The Black Hills District 79 

The Ecological Associations 79 

The Steppe Formation 80 

General Geographic Conditions 80 

The More Conspicuous Plants and Animals 81 

Adaptations of Life to Steppe Conditions 83 

Plants 83 

Birds 86 

Mammals 87 

Reptiles: Insects 88 

The Buffalo-Grama Grass or Climax Steppe Association .... 89 

The Needle Grass or Sandy Loam Steppe Association 89 

The Wheat Grass or Clay Steppe Association 9U 

The Bunch Gras or Dry Soil Steppe Association 91 

The Low Shrub Group of Associations 93 

Badlands 94 

The Prairies or Fairly Moist Grass-Covered Plains 95 

Distribution: Conditions 95 

Dominant Plants and Animals of the Prairie 96 

Some Characteristics of the Prairie Biota 97 

The Meadow or Tall Grass Formation 97 

Distribution: Conditions 97 

Dominant Plants and Animals of Meadows 97 

The Life and the Environment 98 

The Woodland 98 



In General 9 8 

Distribution 9 8 

Geographic Conditions 99 

Dominant Plants and Animals 99 

Groves Along Flood Plains 101 

Ravine and Gulch Woodland 101 

Woods on Bluffs: Pine Forests 102 

The Aquatic and Semi-Aquatic Group Associations 103 

In General 103 

Distribution: Geographic Conditions ...., 103 

Dominant Plants and Animals 103 

Characteristics of Aquatic Life 101 

Marshes 104 

Ponds 105 

Lakes 106 

Streams 106 

Chapter 7 — Human Geography 

The Population and its Composition 109 

The Densitv of Population 110 

Location of Dwellings: Location of Towns Ill 

Eastern Half of the State 112 

Black Hills Region: Great Plains Section 114 

The More Important Occupations 11-') 

Agriculture 115 

Stock Raising 115 

Farming 119 

Mining and Quarrying 124 

Lumbering 124 

Manufacturing 125 

Commerce 128 

Historical Geography or the Evolution of Preisent Conditions 129 

Introductory 129 

Geography of Exploration 129 

Gecgraphv of the Fur Trade 132 

River Commerce 134 

The Settlement of the State . . . 137 

Causes for Late Settlement 137 

Settleme-nt Before 1876 139 

Beginnings of Settlement 139 

Hard Times 140 

The First Boom 141 

Gold of the Black Hills and its Influence on Settlement .... 1 43 

The Great Dakota Boom 14 6 

Admission of South Dakota to Statehood 155 

Wet Years and the Return of Good Times 159 

Recent Years 160 

Summary of Settlement 16 

Bibliography of Literature Cited 163 

REPORT OF STATE GEOI^OGIST 

Letter of Transmittal 180 

Introductory 181 

Field Work 181 

Service Bureau 182 

Museum 182 

Accessions 183, 186 

Publications 186 

Relation of the Survey to the War 186 

Miscellaneous Activities 187 

Needs of the Survey 188 



The Geography of South Dakota 



CHAPTER ONE 

INTRODUCTORY 

Location, p. 7; Shape, p. 8; Area, p. 9; Boundaries and their selec- 
tion, p. 9. 

GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE 

South Dakota is nearly equally distant, about 1300 miles, from the 
Atlantic and Pacific oceans, having approximately the same longitude as 
North Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, and central Mexico, and in mid- 
latitudes, having, approximately the same latitude as Oregon, Wisconsin, 
southern Ontario, New Hampshire, northern Italy, and south-central 
Manchuria. The forty-third parallel forms most of the southern boun- 
dary of the state; the northern boundary is near the forty-sixth. The 
geographic center of North America probably is within the state. The 
eastern part of the state is in the Prairie Plains, most of the remainder 
in the Great Plains; an outpost of the Rocky Mountains (the Black 
Hills) occupies much of the southwestern quarter. 

The location of an area is of very great geographic importance. All 
large areas differently located differ in regard to climate, geology and 
mineral resources, topography, political and industrial relations, and the 
stage of the development of the area. 

The location in the northern Great Plains and Prairie Plains of the 
United States determines (1) the general type of climate (marked seas- 
onal changes, uncertain rainfall,) (2) the general plan of the topography 
(the Great Plains section is a gentle piedmont slope, the Prairie Plains 
section has been glaciated), (3) that over wide areas the rock strata 
are nearly horizontal but that in the region of the Black Hills the strata 
are disturbed and ores are found, (4) that the population is English- 
speaking, chiefly Teutonic, and progressive, (5) that the area long was 
on or beyond the frontier and still is so in respect to manufacturing, 
and (6) that the major activities of the population are grain growing 
and grazing, results of the factors just enumerated. 

South Dakota as a Frontier Area 

Although the southeastern corner of the state was settled in the 
'50's and '60's, and most of the eastern third by the end of the 'SO's, 
much of the free land of the western half was not appropriated until 
after lOOT). The experience and opinions of the pioneer "homesteaders," 
many of whom were poorly prepared for the hardships encountered and 
who in many cases were but temporay sojourners in the state, have 
influenced greatly its reputation. 

The states lying east of the longitude of Dakota, because of greater 
and more reliable rainfall and closer proximity to markets, have a 
relatively dense population, with better developed industries and larger 
cities. Directly west of South Dakota, there has been no great develop- 
ment until quite recently. The chief development was for a long time 
to the north (Washington) or south (California) of the latitude of this 
state, which is a partial exjilanation of the fact that although North 
Dakota and Nebraska had transcontinental railroads hy 1890, the first 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



one across South Dakota was completed in 19 09. The major cause of 
this lack is, however, the character of the Rocky Mountain barrier. The 
Black Hills intercept the southern half of the state, while west of the 
northern half there are no easy passes across the main chain. 

The development of adjacent and neighboring states to the north 
and south has been similar to that of South Dakota, their trade and 
travel using east-west routes. Consequently there has been no great 
demand for north-south railroad transportation across these states and 
until quite recently most of South Dakota was relatively inaccessible by 
rail from either North Dakota or Nebraska. The Black Hills formerly 
were more closely associated commercially with Nebraska than with 
eastern South Dakota, because until 19 07 the only railroads into these 
Hills were from the south. 

Only since the building of the Puget Sound extension of the Chicago, 
Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad (1907-09) has territory outside of South 
Dakota been commercially tributary to that state, as parts of southwest- 
ern North Dakota now are. 

The commercial outlet of South Dakota has been towards the east. 
The grain exported has reached its chief market, the eastern states and 
northern Europe, by way of Chicago or more recently by way of the 
Great Lakes from Duluth to Buffalo and beyond. With the great devel- 
opment of the flour mills at Minneapolis and the increase of lake trans- 
portation which followed the deepening of shallow parts of the channel, 
notably the construction of larger locks at Sault St. Marie, the latter 
route has gained in importance. The live stock went chiefly to the great 
slaughtering houses at Chicago until the passage of the 26 hour law 
gave Sioux City an advantage. i Sioux Falls became an important pork 
packing center in 1911. 

South Dakota has no great advantages for wheat and cattle raising 
over several other areas likewise chiefly engaged in growing these pro- 
ducts, and therefore has developed no faster than they, and still has a 
relatively small population (about 650,000.) 

Its location affords the state some slight advantages over its north- 
ern, western, and southern neighbors. The corn belt, as that term is 
used by the Federal Department of Agriculture, extends a considerable 
distance into South Dakota, but not into North Dakota. The temperature 
is somewhat lower than in Nebraska, and in this respect, in sections of 
the two states having similar precipitation, conditions are more favorable 
for vegetation in the northern state. Hail and tornadoes are less fre- 
quent than farther south, and blizzards rarer than in North Dakota. 
South Dakota has more rainfall and is nearer to the great eastern mar- 
kets than are Wyoming and Montana. 

Shapo 

In shape South Dakota is a rectangle imperfect because of Lakes 
Traverse and Big-Stone which indent the northeastern corner, and the 
river boundaries of the southeastern corner. 

The average length (east-west) of South Dakota is 370 miles (ex- 
treme length, 3 80 miles), and the average width (north-south) about 
200 miles (extreme width, 238 miles.) The shortest distance between 
New York City and Washington D. C, and between Copenhagen and 
Berlin is, in each case, about 200 miles; between Berlin and Stockholm 
about 370 miles, and between Buffalo and Boston about 400 miles. These 
figures give some idea of the area of the state. 

The rectangular shape of South Dakota, with the greatest dimension 
east-west, is in part the result of the commercial relations of the state. 



^A Federal statute which requires that live stock en route to market must 
be fe'd and watered at intervals not exceeding- 26 hours. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



Since the chief markets are to the east, the chief lines of communication 
run east-west and tend to unite communities along them. Nothing unites 
communities north or south of such lines so closely. The lesser width 
is approximately equal in hours of railroad travel to the greater length. 
Except on a single line (Yankton to Aberdeen) it requires about as long 
to cross the state from north to south as it does from east to west or 
in some places even longer. Chicago can be reached from many stations 
in eastern South Dakota in less time than it takes to reach many stations 
less than half as far away to the north or south. 

The state extends just far enough westward to include the important 
mining part of the Black Hills. This mountain mass introduces diverse 
elements in topography, climate, vegetation, rock formations and industry, 
and is chiefly responsible for the greater diversity found in South Dakota 
than in the neighboring states of Xortli Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska 
which have no mountainous area. Different points of view have been 
developed among the people engaged in mining, grazing on the plains, 
large scale agriculture in parts of the northeastern quarter, and mixed 
farming. This diversity is a factor of economic and social strength, but 
it complicates legislative problems, since representatives from diverse 
sections and occupations are in many cases unable to appreciate the 
general needs. 

Area 

The area of the state is 7 7,615 square miles or about fifty million 
acres, of which 7 47 square miles aro covered permanenttly by rivers and 
lakes. This 747 square miles of submerged land is in contrast with 
3,824 square miles for Minnesota and 4,447 for New England. The 
state has approximately the same area as Nebraska, Kansas, or Minne- 
sota, or as New England with New Jersey and Delaware added. South 
Dakota is 50 per cent larger than the combined areas of the Netherlands, 
Belgium, Denmark, and Switzerland, and is almost as large as Great 
Britian (England, Scotland, and Wales.) 

From these comparisons some suggestion as to the possible signifi- 
cance of the area cf South Dakota may be obtained. Of course its 
location and resources are not at all on a par with those of Great Britian, 
for example, but it seems evident that in the distant future, when the 
resources of the state are completely utilized, it may support well a 
population several times as great as it now possesses. 

Boundaries 

Geographic factors influenced the establishment of at least the 
northern, eastern, and southern boundaries. 

In territorial days (before 1889) the chief factor in regard to the 
determination of the boundaries was perhaps the location of this area 
near or beyond the western limit of compact settlement. The Missouri 
River, conspicuous and well-known, long served as a boundary of terri- 
tories. The following enumeration of territorial boundary changes in 
many cases is suggestive of geographic influences in the locations of 
boundaries. 

Between 1803 and 1812 Dakota was l)art of the Louisiana Terri- 
tory. Between 1812 and 1861 the section west of the Missouri River 
was included in Nebraska Territory. The section east of the Missouri 
belonged, successivelv. to the territorv of Missouri (1812-1834). Mich- 
igan (1824-1 83iPO. Wisconsin (1836-1838). Iowa (1838-1849) and Min- 
nesota (1849-1858). From 1858 to 1861 it was unorganized, and known 
as the "Land of the Dacotahs." Dakota Territory, as organized in 1861, 
included what now are North and South Dakota, most of Montana, and 
I)arts of Nebraska and Wvoniing In 1863 it was reduced to approxi- 
mately what is now North and South Dakota. In 1864 it was again 



10 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

extended, but a permanent reduction was made in IStJS. Minor changes 
along the Nebraska-South Dakota boundary were made in 187 and 

1882.2 

The Eastern Boundary. The eastern boundary of Dakota Territory 
was the western boundary of Iowa and Minnesota, in other words, tlie 
Red River, Lake Traverse and Bigstone, the meridian south from the 
end of the latter lake to Iowa and the Big Sioux Rivor to its junction 
with the Missouri. 

The Red River of the North nearly follows a meridian for a long 
distance. The fact that its source is in Lake Traverse increases its sig- 
niflcancG as a natural boundary since Lakes Traverse and Bigstone are 
the longest lakes for manv miles, and were of importance as sites of 
Indian settlements with which there was fur trading before 1750. A 
short distance south of the end of Lake Bigstone, the Big Sioux River, 
also an important stream in the early fur trade, having been visited by 
the French before 17 00,3 comes to approximately the same meridian and 
continues south near it to the Missouri River, which stream in turn flows 
southward into the state of Missouri. This combination of waterways 
forms a rather striking geographic boundary line. 

As the area between this dividing line and Wisconsin and Illinois 
was sufficiently large to permit the creation of two average sized states 
between Missouri and Canada, it was rational that this strongly suggested 
north-south line should have been adopted as the western boundary of 
Iowa and Minnesota. The absence of a geographically suggested boundary 
either to the east or west of this one and still sufficiently near to it so 
that the territory to the east as far as the Mississippi would give averaged- 
sized states,* increased the likelihood of the choice of this line. 

In the adoption of boundaries for states, Congress was influenced 
greatly by the boundaries as well as the areas of older states. In several 
cases the same or approximately the same meridians or parallels are 
used as parts of the boundaries of three or more states, and other parts 
of streams which formed the boundary for parts of older states in many 
cases wetre taken advantage of in bounding younger states. 

Iowa, as admitted in 184 5, had for its western boundary approxi- 
mately the meridian which formed much of the western boundary of 
Missouri; but in 184 6 it was extended westward to the Missouri and the 
Big Sioux rivers. The rather sharp western bend of the Missouri near 
the mouth of the Sioux doubtless was a factor, in addition to that of the 
area, favoring the choice of the lesser stream as a boundary. ^ 



-Gannett, H. : The Boundaries of the United State.s and the several states 
and territoi-ies. Bull. 226, U. S. Geol. Sur., pi>. 117-132, especially p. 129, Wash- 
ington. 1914. 

^Robinyon, Doane: A Brief History of South Dakota, p. 22, (New York, 
1905). 

■iHad the relatively iiisig-nificant Dakota River, but slightly known in 
1846, when the jire.stnt western boundary of Iowa was established, been 
chosen, the area to the north of Iowa would have been more than 115,000 
square miles, about 35,000 square miles larger than Minnesota, and greater 
than any states then admitted except Texas. In 1846 there was great ob- 
jection in Congress to the making of states of large size. 

"The boundaries of Iowa, as provided by Congress in 1845, gave it an area 
much smaller than its present one. The reason for this small size was the 
desire on the part of a majority in Congress to carve many, rather than few, 
states out of the free territory". The people of Iowa so strenuously objected 
to this restricted area that they twice rejected the constitution offering ad- 
mission with these boundaries. They demanded, instead, the so-called "Lucas 
boundaries", by which the Missouri River formed the western boundary and 
the northern boundary extended northeast from the mouth of the Sioux 
River, including in Iowa several counties now in southeastern Minnesota. 
The basis for these demands were, (a) the desire for a larger area, and (b) 
the desire for the "natural" boundary afforded by the Missouri River The 
present boundary was a compromise offered by Congress in 1846. The parallel 
of 43° 30' was followed from the Mississippi River to the Sioux River. Thus 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 11 

When Minnesota was about to be admitted in 1858, the choice of 
its western boundary probably was influeaiced by the fact that the meri- 
dian followed approximately by the Red • River and Lake Traverse was 
approximately the one roughly followed by the rivers which form the 
western boundary of Iowa and part of Minnesota. '> 

The Western Boundary. The western boundary is the meridian 27° 
west of Washington, D. C. (approximately 104° west of Greenwich.) 
It is not known that geographic factors directly determined the selection 
of this particular meridian. The fact that it passed through the mouth 
of the Yellowstone River, near which point was located the then im- 
portant Fort Union, suggests that they did, but search in U. S. House 
and Senate Documents, the Congressional Globe, and elsewhere has 
failed to reveal the cause for the choice of this meridian. During 1863 
and 1864 it served as the western boundary of all the Dakota Territory. 
During the latter year the Territory was extended greatly westward 
south of thti 4iith parallel. In 18 68, when Wyoming Territory was 
formed, this meridian again became the sole western boundary. In 1867 
the western boundary cf northern Nebraska was established on this 
meridian, so in adopting it, Nebraska followed Dakota. 

The Southern Boundary. The southern boundary of Dakota Territory 
was established in 1861 when the Territory of Nebraska was divided. 
The 4 3rd parallel was followed to the Keiva Paha River, which was fol- 
lowed to the Niobrara River, which in turn was followed to its junction 
with the Missouri, which formed the rest of the boundary. In 1882, the 
unsatisfactory nature of a boundary determined by small, crooked 
streams was realized, and the 43rd parallel was made the boundary east- 
ward to the Missouri River. In 1870 a minor adjustment, made desir- 
able by the shifting of the main channel of the Missouri, was made,, 
and a small area was ceded to Nebraska. 

It may be conjectured" that the choice of the 43d parallel was maae 
(1) because it onproximately extends the line of the big eastward bend 
of the Missouri River, (2) it nearly follows the divide between the White 
and Niobrara River, (3) it is just south of the southern border of the 
Black Hills. 

The Northern Boundai'>\ The Territory of Dakota extended north- 
ward to the Dominion of Canada. It was divided in 1889, into two 
states, along the seventh standard land survey parallel and a west- 
ward extension of this parallel. This line is four miles south of 46° 
north latitude. Its choice made the division of townships unneces- 
sary, a division which would have been necessary had the 4 6° parallel 



the area demanded by lowans was reduced in the northeast but extended 
by about one-third the amount of this reduction in the northwest. (Sham- 
baush, r.. F. : "The History of the Constitutions of Iowa", pp. 256-2S4, 206- 
317. an'l his "Maii.s showing the Boundary History of Iowa", la. Jour, of Hist, 
and T^nlitics, Vol. 2, p. 374. i;)04.) 

"Th<> enablinsf act of Dec. 1S,^)G. gave the west boundary as the Red River, 
La)<e Traverse and the Sioux River. The committee on teri'itorie.s. influenced, 
it is said, bv the land speculators who had laid out Sioux Falls [Andreas 
Hist. Atl"< of Dakota, p. 9.5. Chicaso. 1884], substituted Lake Bie: Stone and 
the meridian due south from its southern end to the Iowa boundary lor the 
Sioux River, which was consi'derfd by the chairman to be too small in It.s 
upper section and too crooked for a state boundary. This substitution de- 
I'l-ived Minnesota of some fiOO square miles, including the territory ui>on which 
Watertown. Brookings, and Sioux Falls are now located. (Winchell, Alex N.: 
"Minnesota's lOastern, Southern, and Western Boundaries." Minnesota Hist. 
Soc. Coll.. Vol. X, pt. 11, pp. 677-687; and the "Consressional Globe" for Jan. 
.31-Feb. 2.''). 18.'')7.) 

"Search in government documents, publications dealing- with Nebraska or 
Dakota and elsewhere has failed to disclos'^ an>' discussion of the refi'^-ons for 
the selection of this precise boundary. The choice was made by the com- 
mittee on territories, whose deliberations were not recorded. The ch.airman 
of the committee had travelled extensively throuerh the west and in his 
speeches in Congress repeatedly showed an appreciation of geographic factors. 



12 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

been followed. It also divided the territory approximately into halves. 

Geographic influences w^hich worked for the division of Dakota 
were (1) its large area — apprbximately twice the average size of the 
American states of today and nearly three times the average size of 
those which had been admitted already. North and South Dakota 
combined would have an area nearly three times that of the present 
medium sized states, such as Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin. (2) The 
community of interest between the more densely settled sections was 
very weak, because of the lack of communication. The lower (north- 
ern) portion of the Red River Valley was the first part of northern 
Dakota to be settled, while it was the extreme southeastern corner 
of southern Dakota which was first settled. Between these settle- 
ments was a tract nearly 400 miles in width, long sparsely settled, 
and crossed by neither navigable streams nor, until after 1887, by a 
railroad. With the coming of railroads, many lines which enter 
North Dakota came from Minneapolis — St. Paul, already a fairly im- 
portant industrial center, while two of the more important lines which 
enter South Dakota came through Sioux City which is nearly due 
west from Chicago, a great railroad center. The chief railroad systems 
in South Dakota are the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, the Chicago and 
Northwestern, and the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, while in North 
Dakota the chief ones are the Northern Pacific, the Great Northern, and 
the Sault St. Marie. Each of these lines has little or no mileage in the 
other state. Even today, as already remarked, the railroad communica- 
tion between the two states is poor. (3) Many of the people predicted 
that what were then the more densely populated regions would remain 
widely separated by sparsely settled stretches. (4) A non-geographic 
factor was the selfish ambition of many office seekers. Two states 
meant twice as many state offices. 

.The geographic factors of large area, lack of communication and 
widely separated settled areas, were appreciated and made much of by 
most advocates of division, in constitutional conventions, in instructions 
to delegates, and in memorials to Congress.s The agitation for division 
and statehood is treated more fully in Chapter 7, (p. 155.) 



sRobinson, Doane: Papers relating- to the Division of Dalvota, S. D. Hist. 
Coll., Vol. IV, p. 56, 1908. 



CHAPTER TWO 

CiEOIXKlY.i 

.The geologic formations have influenced (a) the topography and 
drainage, (b) the soil, and (c) the character and distribution of the 
mineral resources. 

Most of South Dakota is underlain by nearly horizontal strata of 
poorly consolidated, and in most cases, relatively recent geologic forma- 
tions. The accompanying geologic map2 (Fig. 1) shows the general dis- 




Fig. 1. Geological Map 

1. Granite. Quartzite, Schists 4. Shale 

2. Sandstone, Shale, Limestone 5. Sandstone, Shale, Lignite 

3. "Redbeds," Sandstone, Shale, Chalk, 6. Clays, Marls, Sands. 

tribution of the principal formations. It is efvident from the map that, 
geologically, the state is an irregular basin with older formations out- 
cropping at the east and west. The Black Hills form the most striking 
geologic feature. In these hills, formations representing nearly all per- 
iods up to the Tertiary outcrop in concentric rings around a core of 
very ancient schist and granite. 3 

In the southeastern quarter of the state (Sioux Palls to Mitchell) 
old quartzite outcrops at various points. Around it are Cretaceous for- 



iThe general references to the literature on the geoloyy of the state are: 
Darton, N. H. : Geology and Water Resources of South Dakota, Water Supply 
Paper .227, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1909. Darton, N. H.: The Geology and Water 
Resources of the Great Plains. Prof. Paper 32. U. S. Geol. Survey, 1905. 
Todd, J. E.: A Preliminary Sketch of the Geology of South Dakota, Bull. 
No. 1, S. D Geol. Survey, 1894. Todd, .T. B. : The Hydrographic History of 
South Dakota, Vol. Xlli. Geol. Soc. Am., pp. 27-40. 1901. 

-Based on Darton's in Water Supply Paper No. 227. 

^N. H Darton's reports on the Geology and Water Resources of the Black 
Hills are authorities. The southern half is treated In Part IV of the 21st 
Annual Rei)ort of the U. S. Geol. Survey, 1901. and the northern part in Prof. 
Paper 65, 1909. Several Geologic folios. (Nos. 8.'., 107. 108. 127, 128, 164, treat- 
ing of most of the Black Hills have been issued. 1902-1909.) 



14 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



mations.-i In the northeastern corner of the state, Pre-Cambrian granite is 
surrounded by shale and chalk of Creteceous age. The youngest ex- 
tensive formation aside from the glacial drift of the eastern half of the 
state, is in the region between the Black Hills and the Missouri River, 
and is of Late Tertiary age. 

(a) The relationship betw^een the geologic formations and the topo- 
graphy and drainage is very intimate in the Black Hills region. The 
Hog-back-rim (a cuesta) due to the outcropping of resistant sandstone 
(Dakota and other formations) ; the Red Valley within the Cuesta, on 
the outcrop of softer shales (Spearfish red-beds) ; the Limestone Plateau, 
surrounding the core of the Hills, cut by superb canyons; and the "parks" 
on the crystaline rocks of the central mass are the larger features show- 
ing this relationship. 

The buttes of the plains owe their existence in part to more resistant 
lenses of rock. Striking illustrations are the "tepee buttes," due in 
certain places (in the Pierre shales) to lenses of fossil shells, and in 
others (in the Fort Union formation) to lenses of chert. Bad-land 
topography appears to be developed best on certain Tertiary formations; 
at any rate it is associated with irregularly consolidated clays, marls 
and sand. 

There are numerous illustrations of the adjustment of drainage to 
structure, and to formatious of unequal resistance. 




Fig. 2. A Generalized Soil Map 

(b) A comparison of the soil map of the state (Fig. 2) with the 
geologic map shows a noticeable correspondence in the distribution of 
certain soil types and geologic formations. In the field the several 
geologic formations in many places may be recognized by the soils to 
which they give rise, even when the rocks are not exposed. The soils 
vary strikingly in color as well as in texture and in tendency to crack. 
Conversely, knowing the underlying formation in any given region, a 



*U. S. Geol. Surv., Parker. Alexandria and Mitchell Folios. 

^Todd, J. E.: Hvdrosraphic Historj^ of South Dakota, Bull. Geol. Soc. Am., 
Vol. XIII, 1901, pp. 27-40. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 15 

reasonable prediction can be made as to the nature of the soil. Five 
striking cases of correspondence between soils and geologic formations 
are (1) the gumbo derived from the P.erre shale, (2) the red sandy- 
loam developed from the Spearfish red-beds, (3) the light colored silt- 
loam from the White River formation, (4) the sandy soil of the dunes 
associated with the Rosebud formation, and (5) the clay-loam developed 
from the glacial drift. The eastern half of the state has a rather uniform 
type of soil because of the glaciation of that section. The glaciers rather 
thoroughly mixed the ingredients derived from the underlying rocks. The 
drift contains in most places so little stratified material that most of the 
drift can be classed as till. 

The character and distribution of the mineral resources are deter- 
mined in general by the rock formations, as will be pointed out in the- 
next chapter. 



CHAPTER THREE 

MINERAL RESOURCES 

Waters, p. 16; Clays and Cements, p. 21; Building Stones and Road 
Materials, p. 22; Mineral Fuels, p. 24; Ores in the Black Hills, p. 24; 
Miscellaneous Mineral Products, p. 26; Soils, p. 26. 

The mineral resources of the states are varied. i The Black Hills are 
especially rich in ores and have yielded to date about 200 million dollars' 
worth of gold. For many years South Dakota ranked third among the 
states in the production of this metal, but recently it has taken fourth 
place. South Dakota leads the states in the production of lithia, and 
ranks third in the production of mica. There is a great variety of 
structural materials, most of which are present in large quantities, and 
there are somewhat extensive lignite deposits in the northwestern quarter 
of the state. In much of the state flowing wells may be secured at no 
great depth and have been of enormous value. 




Fig. 3. Map indicating the approximate area in which artesian flows may be 
obtained. Non-flowing artesian wells may be secured in all areas except 
parts of the Black Hills and the eastern border of the state. 

I. Artesian and Other Waters 
1. Artesian Wells.- Artesian weJls are deep wells in which the water 
rises notably, in many cases flowing out of the well. In about half the 
area of the state (Fig. 3) a bountiful supply of pure water can be ob- 



'The more important literature dealing with this topic was found to be 
two papers in Bull. 3. S. D. Geol. .Survey. 1902. O'HarrP. C. C. : The Mineral 
wealth of the' Black Hills, and, Todd, J .B : Mineral, Building Materialc, Fuels 
and Waters of S. D. The several Geologic folios, numerous volumes of the 
Mineral Resources of the U. S. issued annually by the U. S. Geol. Survey 
and the other bulletins of the U. S. and S. D. Geological Surveys and "The 
Mineral Industi-y" (annual) also afford .some data. 

-The chief references to literature upon the artesian wells in S. Dak. are: 
Darton, N. H.: The Geology and Underground Waters of S. Dak., Water Supply 
Paper 227, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1909. This summarizes and revises data given 
in the following less general reports: Darton, N. H.: Preliminary Report on 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 17 

tained at little expense. In many cases the first cost of the well is the 
only cost for many years, there being no expense for pumping in the 
case of flowing wells. 

At this time (191S) there are more than 5000^ wells flowing con- 
stantly, and of this vast quantity of pure water only a small portion is 
used. The waste would not matter if the supply of water were inex- 
haustible, but we are far from sure that it is. Already many well^ yield 
less than formerly, and the flew from some has stopped entirely. Prob- 
ably in many cases this is due to the wells becoming clogged, or to faulty 
construction ; but in many cases it seems to be due to the local depletion 
by the many wells of the water supply stored up through the ages in the 
porous strata beneath the surface. 

^lost artesian water has moved for great distances, in some places 
hundreds of miles, under ground. Much of this movement is by slow 
percolation during which the water has become germ-free. In most 
cases the water ente«rs the porous, sandv "water-bearing" layer in some 
region where the layer is near the surface, and flows down under a more 
or less impervious layer. 

In the artesian district, flowing or "tubular" wells are obtained from 
four different horizons, ranging from 60 to more than 3 000 feet in depth. 
The shallower wells (60 to 200 feet) are from sands which in a number 
of localities are found at the base of the glacial drift or "bowlder clay." 
Flowing wells from this horizon are common in the Dakota River flood- 
plain, near Artesian in Sanborn county, and at a number of other points. 
Most of the shallower (100 to 400 feet) artesian wells are from a layer 
of sandstone in the Bentcn shale, which underlies the drift or both drift 
' and chalk, where chalk is present. 

I The great source of flowing wells is the Dakota sandstone, from 

' which nearly all the great flows come. This stratum in places is some- 
, what more than a hundred feet thick, and is filled with water. It comes 
to the surface as a ridge around the Black Hills and elsewhere along the 
I foothills of the Rocky Mountains, several hundred miles from most of the 
, wells and many hundred feet higher. Pressures as great as 2.50 pounds 
I to the square inch* have been recorded at some of the wells. The largest 
I well, at Aberdeen, flows 2,000 gallons a minute (more than 100,000 bar- 
i rels per day), a quantity suflficient to supply the needs of a city with a 
( population of 15,000. 

I The depth from the surface to the Dakota sandstone varies in dif- 

( ferent parts of the state, as well as with the relief of the surface. In 
I the Dakota Valley its depth averages about 900 feet, ranging from 200 
feet near Mitchell to 1,500 feet near Aberdeen. The only well east of 
I the Missouri that is much deeper than 1,500 feet is that at Gettysburg 
j (2,130 feet). West of the river there are several wells more than 2,000 
1 feet in depth, and one at Edgemont, 3,000 feet. The latter penetrates 
! a sandstone lower than the Dakota. Nearlv all the cities and villages 
J in the artesian area now secure their wafer supply from artesian wells. 



Artesian Waters of a Portion of the Dakotas. 17th Ann. Rept., U. S. Geol. 
Survey, Pt. II; Darton, N. H. : New Developments in Well-Borins" and Irriga- 
tion in eastern S. D.. 18th Ann. Rept.. U. S. Geol. Survey; Darton. N. H. : The 
r?ellefourche folio (No. 164). 190tt; Todd, .T. E.: The .Xberdeen-Redfield folio 
No. 16.5. 190!t; The Elk Point folio (No. 156), 1906; The Geology aiivi Water 
Resources of portions of southeastern S. T^ak., and of the lower .Tames Valley, 
Water Sui)i)lv Papers, No. .•?4 and No. 90, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1900. 190t. These 
two water supply T>apers incori)orated many of the results secured while the 
making of the Parker and Olivet and the Alexandria, Mitchell, DeSmet and 
Hui-on folios. 

"In .Tan., 1912, T4on. Peter Norbeck, of the firm of Norheck and Nickelson. 
,the leadinpT well-drilling firm in the state, and one which keeps a scor(> of 
outfits at woi-k. made this estimate. 

'"I'robablv the greatest recoiderl artesian pressure in the world." (.Tohn- 
son, Willis, E. : Dakota: A Republic «f Friends, p. 43. (Pierre, 1911). 

Sig. — 2. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



Most of the artesian waters have a temperature higher than the 
average temperature of the area for the year. In the Teton River Valley 
wells are distinctly warm, having temperatures of about 130° Fahr. 

The Uses of Artesiim Wells. It was not until the middle 18 80's that 
successful attempts to secure wells on the uplands were made. For 
several years before there had been a few wells in the Missouri River 
flood-plain. 5 The first was completed at Fort Randall in what now is 
Gregory county, in 1881. « Until the late 90's the cost was beyond the 
means of most farmers." Imijrovements of methods which greatly de- 
creased the cost of construction, combined with good crops and a rapid 
rise in land values during the years following 189 8, led to a great increase 
in the number of wells, a vast majority of which have been drilled since 
1900. The present cost of artesian wells of ordinary diameters (2-3 
inches) is about 50 cents per foot. The wells drilled in the 80's (with 
diameters of 5 to 9 inches) averaged more than $2.50 per foot. 

The most important use of artesian water is for domestic and stock 
purposes. In many places pipes from the) flowing wells furnish running 
water to buildings, gardens and lawns. In nearly all cases the water 
supply furnished is constant, convenient, abundant and wholesome, and 
in most cases is quite in contrast to that which was obtained before such 
wells were secured. 

The most extensive use of water from artesian wells is for watering 
live stock. In most cases artesian water is preferred by stock because of 
its temperature, which is much warmer than air temperatures during the 
winter, and much cooler during the summer, and in many cases because 
of its appreciable mineral content. 

The pressure of many wells is sufficient to throw a column of water 
to the top of the taller buildings of the region, and therefore such flow- 
ing wells may be an effective aid in ordinary fire-fighting. 

The pressure has been used in a few scores of places for the 
production of power which has been used to run grinding mills, electric 
lighting plants and various sorts of machinery. The relatively low pres- 
sures (50-100 lb. per square inch) of most wells, the numerous cases of 
marked decline from the original pressure, and the competition of coal, 
gasoline and kerosene have discouraged the use of flowing wells for 
power. 

Usually severe droughts occurred in the late 80's and early 90's and 
led to much speculation as to the practicability of using flowing wells 
for irrigation. Some very restricted areas, chiefly garden patches, were 
irrigated, s but artesian wells have been used to date to a very slight 
extent only for irrigation. Four factors appear to be responsible for 
this slight use: (1) In the artesian basin, periods during which irriga- 
tion is needed are often separated by months and years. Most farmers 
run the risk of an occasional short crop rather than prepare, and keep 
ready for use, an expensive irrigation plant with ditches which would 
interfere with the fre*e use of 'the land in ordinary years. (2) Most 
of the flows are in the glaciated area where the topography is highly 
unfavorable for extensive irrigation. There are very few reservoir sites 
from which a large amount of water can be conducted by gravity on to 
an extensive gentle slope. (3) The water in most cases contains a good 
deal of mineral matter in solution and where large quantities of the 
water evaporate, tho soil soon is loaded with salts and becomes unsuited 
to most sorts of vegetation. (4) The volume of water yielded by ordi- 

^Yankton was sunplied chieflv from .Vrtpsian wells in 1882, (Polks Gazetteer 
for Minnesota and Dakota for 188.^. p. 1137. Detroit. 1882). 

«The first artesian well in the western Part of the state was dug at Belle- 
fourche in 1892. (Tallent. .\. D. : The Black Hills. St. Douis, 1899). 

■'There were about 100 wells distributed tbroush 30 counties bv 1889 The 
averae-e cost was $5,000 (Hagertv: Terr', of Dak., p. 50, Aberdeen, 1889) 

8Darton: 18th Ann. Kept, of the IT. S. Geol. Survey. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 19 



nary flows is too small to be effective for the irrigation of considerable 
areas, unless it has been accumulated, as in reservoirs, for a long period. 
Tho high rate of evaporation results in a very slow rate of accumulation. 
Even voluminous flows in most cases are able to maintain a pond only a 
few acres in extent. 

The presence of the artesian basin was not appreciated until after 
most of the area was settled, and consequently settlement was influenced 
slightly by it. However, land values have been greatly affected by 
artesian wells, as buyers accustomed to an unsatisfactory water supply 
readily pay much more for a farm upon which there is a flowing well 
than for another, even, in many cases, if the latter is located where an 
artesian well could be obtained at small cost. The lack of a suitable 
water supply has beeo a strong retarding factor in the settlement of 
many sections of the state. 

Artesian wells have contributed to the prosperity of the artesian 
basin in the several ways already discussed. The advantage which is 
most appreciated by the hard-headed farmers is the influence of the good 
water supply upon cattle. Theses thrive much better in pastures having 
a convenient and altogether satisfactory water supply, than in other 
pastures. 

2. Shallow AVells. Shallow wells now are used but little in the 
area where artesian wells are obtained readily. The depth to a relatively 
permanent abundant supply of water varies greatly with the relief, the 
mantle rock and the topographic location, but for much of the state the 
depth is between 2 and 60 feet, averaging perhaps 4 feet. The water 
from most wells in the Pierre shale and that from many in the glacial 
clay, has an alkaline taste and in some places is not palatable. Because 
of the relatively impervious nature of bowlder clay or other clay, com- 
paratively few "dug" wells in these materials, furnish sufficient water 
to be considered "inexhaustible" in the popular use of that word. Ac- 
companying the wide fluctuations in precipitation, the water table rises 
and falls greatly. Its great amplitude is not appreciated by most farmers, 
and many wells go dry in periods of drought. At such times water for 
domestic use may be hauled long distances, even being brought in by 
train, and cattle may have to go far for perhaps an unsatisfactory drink. 
Most of the cities and villages not in the artesian basin or in the Black 
Hills secure their water from shallow wells. Sioux Palls, the largest 
city in the state, is so supplied 

3. Sprins-s.o Springs are scarce in most parts of South Dakota. 
This is due largely to the relatively impervious clay which mantles much 
of the surface, particularly most of the glaciated section and that in 
which the Pierre and Benton shales outcrop (see geologic and soil maps, 
Figs. 1 and 2). Where porous strata should appear normally, on the 
sides of the valleys, the overlying clay is likely to have slipped down so 
as to cover their outcrops, and seal up the water they contain. 

The light rainfall prevalent over most of the state is another factor 
not conducive to springs. 

In the Black Hills, as in most mountainous areas, springs are numetr- 
ous. There are very large ones at the base of the compact purple lime- 
s.tone where it outcrops near Tilford and Hot Springs. Other large 
springs flow from the gravels along ^valleys. 

In the sandhill districts, notably those in Shannon, Bennett, and 
Todd counties, there are many surprisingly copious springs along the 
valleys. 

A few large springs along the lower course of the Missouri and 
Dakota rivers receive their water from the artesian basin. This is be- 

"There are brief cllscu.ssions of spring's in each of the bulletins of tho S. D. 
Geol. Survey: Bull. 1, p. 61; Bull. 2, pp. 40, 46-47. 109-110; Bull. Z, pp. 12:?-124; 
Bull. 4, pp. 68-69; Bull. 5, pp. 59-60. 



20 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



cause the Dakota Sandstcne, the chief water bearing formation, outcrops 
in the vicinity. 

Several flattish-topped buttes in the western part of the state have 
relatively porous horizontal layers near their tops, and relatively im- 
l)ervious lavers of rock lower down. At the contact of such layers there 
are numerous springs in each of the forested buttes in Harding 
Countv, and in many buttes in the bad-lands, and along the escarpments 
towards the southern border of the state. In the lignite area of the 
state there are many small springs whose water, in many cases, is dark- 
colored though rarely ill-tasting. 

In Union and Lincoln counties many springs issue between the 
loess and the drift. 

Gravel and sand deposits along some lines ot drainage in the glacial 
period are now sul)terranean watercourses which yield springs. Wes- 
sington Springs in Jerauld county and several other springs in the glaciated 
area, esiJecially west of the IMissouri river, are of 'this origin. 

Springs and Human Geography. In the glaciated area, springs have 
been used very little and have influenced settlement slightly. This is 
because nearly all of the relatively few springs are close to the few 
streams. The loess-covered area in Union and Lincoln counties is an 
excei)tion. Here springs were used, from the first and were determining 
factors in the location of many homo.'s. Springs along the east side of 
the Wessington Hills determined the location of several homesteads, and 
copious mineral springs led to the location cf the town of Wessington 
Springs. 

Nearly all the towns and most of the homes in the Black Hills 
secure water for domestic purposes from springs, and springs were im- 
portant factors in the location cf numerous homes in that region. 

The springs in the buttes are iitiportant in giving rise to perma- 
nent brooks. Near the mouths of nearly all of the larger valleys in the 
forested buttes in Harding County, ranch houses have long been located. 

The springs iii;i the sandhills have influenced settlement only indi- 
rectly. Ranch houses are located near spring-brooks. Water for 
domestic purposes is secured from shallow wells, which, in the sand, 
yield copiously. 

Severa'. Indian vilages in what was the Rosebud and Pine Ridge 
Reservations are, or were, located along the contact of the less porcus 
Wbite River beds and the Rosebud beds, which in many places are 
sandy. In the case of four of these villages, old Indians stated that the 
springs were the determining factor in their location. 

There are several ranch heuses in valleys near the contact between 
the almost impervious Pierre Shale and the more norcus overlying beis 
in several counties, notably Tripp, Gregory, and Fall River. 

4. >IincM-al Watei-.s.i" The mineral waters of South Dakota are 
variei. The water of many wells and springs contains sufficient amounts 
of hydrogen sulphide or of carbonates and sulphates of iron, calcium, 
magnesium and sodium to be evident to the taste, but the oniv Ircalitv 
which has become prominent as a resort, largely on account of mineral 
water, is the Hot Springs region in the southern Black H^'lls. This local- 
ity long was known to the Indians as "Minnekahta," the name which 
has been applied by Darton to the limestone with which these springs 
are associated. There are several large hotels and baths in and near 
Hot Springs, and the large Federal Sanitarium and the State Soldiers' 
Home are located there. Mineral waters having an annual value" of 
somewhat more than $2,n0 have been sold during recent years from 
springs near Hot Snrings and one near Siorx Falls. 

5. Streams. The streams are important sources of water for live 

'"Todrl. J. K.: S. 1). Geo], Surv., Hull. 1, yp 111; v.uW 3 p 121-129 (Ver- 
milion 1804. 1902). — p. 1-1 i"», (ver 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 21 

stock, especially where wells yielding an abundant supply are lacking. 
Streams have been used but sparingly for domestic purposes, in part 
because of their muddiness and their great fluctuation in volume. Almost 
the only streams which are fairly clear, except when ice-covered, are 
in the Black Hills, in the larger buttes, notably those of Harding County 
and the Big Bad Lands, or in the sand-hill areas. The minimum flow 
of each of the strea-ms of the state, except the Missouri River, is small, 
and the only long streams which flow i)ermanently throughout much of 
their courses are the Sioux, Dakota, Missouri, White, Teton, Cheyenne, 
Moreau and Grand rivers. The total length of these streams in the state 
is about 2,000 miles. Many streams which have their sources in the 
Black Hills and the sand-hills of Todd, Bennett and Shannon counties, 
though permanent near their sources, dry up farther down their valleys. 

6. Lakes and Ponds. Lakes and ponds are fairly numerous in the 
extensive glaciated area where streams are few. They have had less 
value than the streams as sources of water, largely because of the fact 
that most of them are very shallow. In most cases this means muddv 
margins, high summer temperatures, and considerable aquatic lil'e, 
while many of them disappear during the dry seasons. Furthermore, 
many are covered by ice for a longer period than are streams. Only the 
larger lakes are sufflciently cool and clear so that they are used exten- 
sively by stock which has a choice between lake and w'ell water. Ponds 
and lakes have been used by man himself for domestic purposes taut 
little, and this chiefly before settlement was well established. Consid- 
erable quantities of ice. however, have been cut on lakes, and upon 
pools in the smaller streams. 

7. Rainwater. Cisterns have not been used as much as they should* 
in South Dakota. This is due chiefly to the distribution of the rainfall. 
Most of the precipitation takes place in a relatively short period. In 
order to collect most of the rain wiiich falls on roofs, cisterns have to 
be very much larger than in regions where the rainfall is distributed 
more evenly. During the long period when but little rain falls, there 
is in some cases los'^ of water bv seeimge, and a deterioration of the 
supply retained. Protracted droughts discourage reliance upon cisterns 
as a chief water supply. 

Earthern dams have been built across numerous shallow valleys, 
especially in the western half of the state, and the reservoirs so created 
are a very important source of the water supply for a large jiart of 
the state. Numerous small towns secure water for domestic pifl'iioses 
from shallow wells sunk near such reservoirs. 

TT. Clays and Cement Materials \^ 

1. Clays abound in the state but have been little utilized and have 
not been systematicallv studied. 12. Although bricks have been manu- 
factured in the nast somewhat evtens'velv at more th^ri twenty towns, i"* 
including Vermillion, Yankton, Chamberlain, Pierre, Aberdeen, DeSmet, 
Madison, Englewood. Hill Citv, and Deadw'ood. the^' have be^n made in 
recent years only at Bigstone City and Ranid Citv, and many of the 
bricks made at t^e latter ))lace are of the sand-lime variety The value 
of the bricks produced duriufr re-cent years has averaered somewhat less 
than $80,000 a year, of which nearly a third is accredited to sand-lime 
"bricks. South Dakota has ranked forty-sixth in value of clay products 
among the states during several recent years. This lew rank is not due 



"TT. a Gpo) Piirvrv: Minpr"! neKoiM-c''« of the U. «. r'Ofi-12 
'2S. D. GpoI. Survey, Bull. 1. t>. 158: P.ull. 2. '). \T?.\ P-uU. %. m. 101-108; 
Bull. 4, pn. 5.5-56; Bull. 5. n. f^O. The '-tp tistics of nrodnction a^e from "Min- 
eral T'fsourcps of t»ie TT cj •> t^ P Giol. jsnrvoy, 1907-1912. 

'^There were 29 hrickyard.s in Dakota in 1887. accordinpr to. MoClure: 
"Resources of Dakota," v. 27R, ( .\h.rdcfn, 1S8T). 



22 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

to scarcity of suitable clays, but chiefly to the expensiveness of fuel and 
to the small local market. 

China clay, potters clay, and fire clay are found in the Black Hills 
region in considerable quantities, but only the last has been developed, 
and that but slightly. 

Fullers' earth and volcanic ash appear in the badlands and eastern 
foothills of the Black Hills. The former has been shipped in small 
quantities from a point near Hermosa. 

3. Cement ^laterials.!* At various places, shale and chalky for- 
mations suitable for the production of Portland Cement are associated, 
and a score or more places might be found between Pierre and Yankton 
along the Missouri River, in the lower Dakota Valley and about the Black 
Hills, any one of which would be within easy reach of materials, fuel 
excepted, appropriate for the manufacture of cement. The chief produc- 
tion up to the present time has been at Yankton, is where in 19 00 some 
40,000 barrels of cement were manufactured. The plant was purchased 
and shut down in 1909 by the "trust," and there is now no production 
of cement in the state. 

3. Gypsum. Extensive deposits of gypsum are interbedded with the 
Redbeds in the Red Valley which surrounds the Black Hills. They have 
been worked on a large scale near Sturgis, Rapid City, Hot Springs, and 
Alabaster. The gypsum is calcined, ground, and made chiefly into stucco 
(which will set in 8 to 10 minutes) or plaster of Paris (which sets in 
45 to 50 minutes.) Dental plaster is made also. The production of 
gyi^sum has increased very rapidly during recent years, and it seems 
.probable that it will long continue to increase. Precise figures of the 
production for South Dakota are not given in "The Mineral Resources 
of the United States" or in "The Mineral Industry." 

4i, Limestone of very pure quality is present in large quantities 
and in accessible locations at many places in the Black Hills. It has 
been burned for lime chiefly near Rapid City. The value of the product 
was $25,000 in 1910 and $37,500 in 1911. Formerly small quantities 
of chalk were burned and yielded a poor grade of lime in the lower 
Dakota Valley. 

III. Building Stones and Road Mateiialsie 

(1) Granite. Although vast quantities of granite are exposed in 
the Harney Peak district of the Black Hills, it has little value as a 
building stone because of its very coarse granular texture. Its distance 
from railroads and markets would make it now nearlv worthless for 
building-stone even if the texture were the best. In the northeastern 
corner of the state, there is a fine-grained granite which recently has 
been quarried extensively for tombstone and decorative purposes. Most 
of the somewhat famous Ortonville granite now comes from South Da- 
kota, instead of from Minnesota." 

(2) Porphyry. Various kinds of eruptive rocks, popularlv known 
as porphyries, are widely distributed in the northern Black Hills. Al- 
though little or no extensive auarrving has been done yet in these rocks, 
several varieties may be valuable in the future for ornamental purposes. 

I'Referonces to the literature on Cement Materinls: S. D. Geol. Survey, 
Bull. 1. pp. 156-157: Bull. 3. pp. 99-101; Bull. 4. p. .56: Bull. .5. n. 60: TT. S. 
n^u° r,^""'''^- ^Tineral Resources of the U. S.: (Annual): anri O'Harra. C. C: 
7-^^ ■/^f'J^^ Resources of the Black Hills, S. D., School of Mines Bull. 8, 
(Rapid City, 1908). 

'=The Yankton Portlan'd Cement nlant was claimed to he the lars^est of its 
* ilnov ^ ^- ^- ^" 1^^2. (Cloug-h, Rev. E. E.) in Seneca Falls, N. Y. Courier 
for 1892). 

TT, "JVf Mte^'ature on the Building- Stones and Road Materials is scattered, 
ine tol>owinp are the more important: The folios of the U. S. Geol. Survey 
c o" o o VoAo Jit^^"J''"" °* ^''"' previous chapter: Bull ?,, S. D. Geol. Survey, PP. 
^.-89. l.H)^ ,/"^ figures on the production are based upon those reported in 
the annual Mineral Resources of the U. S. Geol. Survey, 1907-1912. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 23 

(3) Quartzite. Quartzitos are present in several parts of the Black 
Hills, and equally hard cherty layers on buttes, notably on Cave Hills, 
but also on the Bijou Hills, east of the Missouri River. The only 
quartzite deposit which is developed commercially is that in the south- 
eastern corner of the state. The rock here has a bright color, in most 
places some shade of red. It is more easily worked, and yields blocks of 
larger size than can be obtained from this sort of rock in most parts of 
the world. It has been extensively quarried at or near Sioux Falls, and 
Garretson. The foundations and lower walls of numerous buildings 
were built of quartzite before other satisfactory building stones, notably 
the Bedford limestone, could be obtained more cheaply. Of late years 
the quartzite has been quarried chiefly for crushing, for use on roads, 
and has been shipped extensively as far as Chicago. 

(4) Bowlders. East of the Missouri River and a short distance 
wast of it are many scattered glacial bowlders of granite, trap, quartzite, 
limestone, and other rocks. They are relatively few except in the moranic 
belts, but there they are found in such abundance that they will lonjg 
supply the local demands for rough building stone. 

Within a hundred miles of the Black Hills there are found, especially 
on the terraces of the streams which head in the Black Hills, many 
small bowlders and cobblestones. In the future they may be of some 
value. 

(5) Marble. There is marble in two or three localities in the 
Black Hills, but it has been quarried only near Custer. The output to 
date has been small. 

(6) Lfimestones. In the Black Hills there are several limestone 
formations, some of which are locally marble-like, which have been 
quarried for stone and for lime. There is an abundant and well dis- 
tributed supply, and it is probable that the limestone of this section will 
have increasing importance. The value of the annual production during 
recent years appears to have ranged between $6,000 and $50,000. 
Precise figures for most years are not given in the Mineral Resources — 
South Dakota being grouped with other states whose production of lime- 
stone is low. 

Chalk. Chalkstone, though it outcrops in the southwestern and 
northeastern corners of the state, has little economic significance, except 
along the Missouri between Yankton and Chamberlain, and along the 
lower tributaries of the Dakota. Formerly it was burned for lime and 
used as a building stone by the Mennonite colonies, and others of that 
region. 

(7) Sand.stones. Nearly inexhaustible supplies of choice sandstones 
are found in the Black Hills, and varieties suitable for rough building 
purposes are found in various other parts of the state, especially in 
the Cave Hills in Harding county. In the Black Hills the more important 
formations yielding high grade sandstone are associated closely in the 
iiog-back rim of the Hills. Tests have shown that the Dakota sandstone 
in manv places is one of the best building sandstones. The National 
Sanitarium and many other large buildings at Hot Si)rings and elsewhere 
are made of it. The value of the sandstone quarried in 19 08-12 averaged 
about $130,000 a year. 

(8) Sand and Ciravel. In more than three-fourths of the state 
sand and gravel can be obtained only with great difficulty in sufficient 
quantities for local needs. In the areas where the Cretaceous clays 
(Fig. 1) outcroj), gravel and sand are almost lacking, and in the glaciated 
area they are present chiefly as small pockets of irregular distribution. 

There are somewhat extensive sandy belts in Sanborn and Brown 
counties. Good sands and gravels are abundant in the Big Sioux valley. 



24 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

Thoso in western Sanborn and Brown counties have been eriplainecU" as 
the result of the sorting by waves of glacial Lake Dakota, but the topo- 
graphic relations in the termer locality do not support this exnlanation, 
though no plausible one can be offered. Little of the sand of eastern 
South Dakota is sufficiently clean to be readily available for structural 
uses. Most of the sand and gravel used in the towns and cities of 
eastern South Dakota is transported by rail, much of it long distances. 
Relatively little of the railroad grades was ballasted until recent years, 
partlv bp':'ause of the scarcity of e'oo''^ i-^ral supplies of gravel. A short 
distance south of Mitchell and near Blunt deposits of gravel have been 
used for that purpose. 

IV. Mineral Fuels 

( 1 ) South Dakota is poor in mineral fuel as well as in fuels of 
other sorts. Although bituminous coal is present and is mined extefisively 
on the western side of the Black Hills in Wyoming, it has not been found 
in workable quantities in South Dakota, though a little is known near 
Edgemcnt. 

(2) Lisiiito is found in several parts of the state. Thin seams of it 
are struck frequently in the eastern part of the state in digging wells, 
but because of their thinness and the abundance of water, they are not 
workable. In the northwestern corner of the state, particularly in the 
northern parts of Harding and Perkins counties, there are large quan- 
tities of lignite of fair quality. Perhaps a hundred townships (3600 
square miles) are underlaid by beds of some value. Seams three feet 
thick are not rare, and in a few places there are beds ten feet thick. 
The better grades of lignite make a good stove coal. More energy can 
be obtained from a ton of lignite burned in a producer gas engine, than 
from a ton of the best bituminous coal burned under an ordinary steam 
boiler: so it is not to be despised. Even as stove fuel, its presence has 
greatly facilitated the settlement of the northwestern portion of the state. 
Hundreds of "openings' have been made, and the local demand for fuel 
to a large extent satisfied. It is somewhat doubtful if the deposits ever 
will be commercially very important in South Dakota, as the seams in 
most places are thin and overlain by soft shale which makes a poor roof 
for mines. A somewhat detailed examination of the coal fields of South 
Dakota was recently completed by the U. S. Geoloigcal survey and the 
available tonnage of minable lignite given as 1,096,480,000.18 

(;?) Natural Ga.«i.i" Gas has been struck when drilling for wells in 
various parts of the state, and formations which may, in restricted areas, 
contain considerable suiiplies of gas or oil are widespread. The output 
has been small and unim])ortant, with the possible exception of the Pierre 
area, where for nearly 20 years a large i)ortion of the lighting and 
cooking in Pierre and Fort Pierre was done by natural gas. It comes to 
the surface dissolved in the water of several artesian wells and is collected 
in tanks built over them. As a result of decrease in the output, and 
increase in the population, it is now of relatively little importance. 
In 1911 it was being used from 41 artesian wells, and had for that year 
an estimated value of iP17,000. 

V. Ores in the Black Hillsso 
(1) CJold. Gold has been by far the most important of the metals 

I'Todrt, .T. 1'..: Mitchell and Aberdeen-Redfield (p. 13), Folios of lli.- TT s 
Geol. Survey. 1909. 

■n^ignite FieUl of N. W. South Dakota, U. S. G. S., Bull 627 1916 

i»Tli(> only fairlv satisfactory treatments of the natural £;as are- Toild 
J. E.: Rnll. .?. pn. 114-119. 1900; p,„]i 4 ,-,,-, 52..ri4. s n Oeoi Survey 190'' 19ns; 

2"0'Harra. C. C. : The Mineral Wealth of the Black Hills, Bull. ' 6^' S ' d' 
School of Mines, and part of Bull. 3. S. D. Geol. Survey 1902 is the gen- 
eral reference on the toi^ics treated in this section. Recent nrorluctions is 
based on stnfstics given in thp Mineral Resources of the U S U S Geol 
Survey. 1907-1912. or in "The Mineral Industry." (.Annual) ' 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 25 

mined in the state. It has contributed more than 90 per cent of the 
value of the annual product of the mines and quarries and also was 
important in attracting settlers to the state. It was discovered near 
Custer by the Custer Expedition in 1874, and near Deadwood late in 
187:"). Permanent operations commenced in 1876, before the purchase 
(for $4,500,000) of the Black Hills region from the Indians in 1877. For 
several years operations were restr.cted to placer mining. Until 1S85 
the Black Hills had no railroad, and machinery had to be freighted long 
distances, in most cases from Bismark, N. D., Cheyenne, Wyo., or Sidney, 
Nob. This prevented the building in the Hills of complete plants for the 
treatment of ores, and such ore as required treatment out of the Hills 
had to bear the exjiense of ver^^ long haulage. The southern edge 
(Buffalo Gap) of the Hills was reached bv the Chicago and Northwestern 
Railroad in 188r>, and Deadwood was entered by the same road late in 
1890 and by the Burlington early in 1891. Since 1890 the mining has 
beoin chiefly of low^ grade ores. 

The gold bearing ores are found in considerable quantities in the 
(a) slates, schists and quartzites of Proterczoic age, (b) "cement" rocks 
or conglomerate of Cambrian age, (c) limestone of carboniferous age; 
and (d) recent unconsolidated deposits. 

I'rodiietion of G«ild in 8<>iitli Diikota si«oe 1.S75, Mineral Resources, 1910, 

I'. S. (ie<iloRioal Survey. 

: n I H \ 

Year | Value ! Year | Value II Year I value 

\ H \ II I 

I II I II I 

1876 1 $1. 200,(^00 il ]R8« I $2,600,000 || 1900 1 $6,177,600 

1S77 1 2.000,000 |l 1889 1 2,900.000 II 1901 1 6.479.500 

1878 1 2,250,000 jl 1890 1 S. 200. 000 |l 1902 I 6,965,400 

1879 1 2.500,000 |! 1S91 1 3,550,000 H 1903 1 6,826.700 

ISSO I 3,305,S43 i| 1892 1 3.700,000 H 1904 1 7,363,977 

18S1 1 4.000.000 II 1893 1 4.006.400 II 1905 1 6,989,492 

1882 1 3.300.000 II 1894 1 3,868,155 II 1906 1 6,841,469 

1883 1 3,200,000 M 1895 1 3.869,500 II 1907 1 4,13S.1S9 

1S84 1 3,300,000 |l 1S96 1 4.969.800 II 19n,S I 7,657,376 

1885 1 3.200.000 II 1897 1 5.R94.9nO II 1909 1 6.577.836 

1886 1 2.700.000 II 1898 1 5.699.700 II 1910 1 5,402.257 

1887 1 2.400,000 II 1899 1 6,469,500 M I 

I II I II Totnl. ff^ 5Fi.30'^ .''.94 

In the southern Black Hills, the gold comes mainly from quartz 
veins; in the middle Hills chiefly from placer deposits, which are worked 
in the upper part of the Rapid Creek basin by means of dredges; and in 
the northern Hills chiefly from auriferous lodes ("leads"), slate breccias, 
fissure veans and, most important, impregnated zoneB. The- Homestake 
mine is en such a zone of low grade ore. This one mine has produced 
moro than all others, in spite of the fact that the ore worked hfs had 
an average value of only about $.t.5 per ton. Its annual production 
since 1898=1 has averaged about $."),000.000. 

(2) Silver is second in value among the metaliferous products of 
the state. The total production to date is apiiroximately $4,000,000. 
It is found in small but fairly regular amounts associated with gold and 
lead, with the latter especially in the Galena, Carbonate and Spokane 
localities. 

(3) Load is distributed widely and is secured each year in small 
quantities. (13 tons in 1908, 7 tons in 1910, 33 tons in 1911.) 

(4) roiJ|>cr deposits which ajipear to be fairly rich are known at 
various places, especially in the northern Black Hills, but as yet the 
production has been small, (BO.j'OO lbs. of metal in 1908, 42,000 lbs. 
in 1909, 23,057 in 1917.) 



'"The Homestake mills were iiut in operation Jul.v 1, 1878. (Tallent: Tlie 
Flack Hills, p. 510, St. Louis, 1899). 



26 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

(5) Iron ore bodies apparently of some possible future importance 
are found in various places, and small quantities have been used for 
fluxing purposes by local smelters. In 1893-94 165 carloads were shipped 
from Xahant to the smelters of Omaha and Kansas City. 

(6) Tin is present near Keystone in the southeirn part of the Hills 
and near Tinton in the northwestern part. Although efforts to develop 
the deposits have extended over more than 3 5 years, the production up 
to 1900 probably was not more than 50,000 lbs. of metallic tin. Since 
that date there has been a small production nearly every year. 

(7) Tungsten. This reicently valuable metal was discovered in 
1899 near Lead and near Harney Peak. The production during that and 
the following year was about 140 tons. 22 

(8) Manganese ores have been discovered at several points. In 
1892 19 tons were shipped from Custer county. 

Antimony, bismuth, nickel, uranium, and several other metals are 
present in quantities sufficient to encourage prospecting, but as yet have 
not been valuable commercially. 

VI 3Iiscellaneous Mineral Products 

Graphitic slates (pre-Cambrian in age) are abundant in many parts 
of the Hills, and in several places the content of graphite is sufficiently 
high to arouse interest in the economic possibilities of the deposits. 
Sixteen carloads of graphite were ground at the Mineral Paint works 
in Custer in 1900-01.23 

For several years practically all the lithium minerals produced in 
tha United States have come from the Custer district where the ores 
are found as lenses in pre-Cambrian pegmatite. The mineral spodumene 
arousos additional interest because of the vast size of some of its crystals. 
One showing in the sides of a drift for 36 feet, without break, is re- 
corded. 24 Many have a diameter of more than three feet, and a length 
of more than six. 

Mica quarries were exploited extensively during the SO's, and since 
1900. The quarries and sorting plants near Custer include some of the 
larger quantities of high grade mica in that vicinity. Although the 
"Mineral Resources of the United States" states that South Dakota ranks 
second among the states, precise figures of production are not available. 

VII. Soils25 

The general distribution of the chief types of soils is shown in 
Fig. 2. 26 

Most of eastern South Dakota has a clay-loam soil derived from the 
glacial drift of that area. This type is similar to that found in the parts 
of North Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa which are free from loess, and has 
been named by the U. S. Bureau of Soils The Cari-ington Clay-Loam. 
Over extansive areas this soil is rich in humus, and hence is dark 'colored 
to the depth of a foot or so, and in depressions and on the lower parts 
of slopes, to the depth of two or more feet. This type of soil in South 
Dakota is considered to be superior in fertility to its representatives 

"O'Harra, C. C: Mineral Wealth of the Black Hills, Bull 3, S. D. Geol. 
Surv., p. 72, 1902. As yet the U. S. Geol. Survey has reported no production 
from S. D. 

23Ibid., p. 72. 

,00."*^^^^®' ^^- ^'•- Mineral Resources of the U. S., U. S. Geol. Surv., p. 608, 
lss4. 

==The more important references to literature on soils are: Coff' G N : 
i\^^S.°"^T^*^^^"^'^ S°'^ M^>' ^^ Western South Dakota, Report of Field Work for 
1909 U. S. Bureau of Soils. 1911. Todd, J. E., and Darton, N. H : US. 
Geologic Fohos. sections on soils. There is a general discussion of the soils 
"I eastern South Dakota in McClure: The Resources of Dakota, (.Vberdeen, 

2«Based on Coffey's map. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 27 

in more humid areas, because nutritious salts are accumulated near 
the surface by the evaporation of soil moisture in semi-arid regions, 
while in humid regions the surface layers are depleted of salts by 
leaching. 

The soil type perhaps next most widespread is the Pierre clay, 
derived by the weathering of the Pierre shale which outcrops widely 
(Fig. 1). In many places this ciay is very compact, and when wet, very 
tenacious, and is called "gumbo." It does not absorb moisture readily, 
has a strong tendency to cake when dry, and locally possesses too large 
a content of certain minerals to be attractive to ordinary plants. For these 
reasons, gumbo is an undesirable soil, though it yields very abundantly 
in years when the precipitation falls at opportune times. Small gumbo 
areas, often popularly called "alkali spots," are found here and there 
even in the glaciated part of the state, and have been explained as the 
result of masses of Pierre shale which had been transported by the 
glacier after the manner in which bowlders were carried.-" Small areas of 
this sort are being eliminated in many cases by building straw stacks 
over them. The straw, when decayed, contributes much mould, which 
counteracts the objectionable elements in the soil. 

Clay-loams, silt-loams and sandy loams, grouped as "loams" in Fig. 
2, derived from many rock fcrmations, are widespread in western South 
Dakota. For reasons discussed in the chapter on Bio-geography, clay- 
loams are considered to be relatively the most productive in ordinary 
"wet years" (clays are most productive in years of unusually favorable 
precipitation), and silt-loams in dry years. The sandy soils have a fairly 
rank growth of native vegetation and do reasonably well by crops, but 
they blow badly during dry years after being broken up. 

Alluvium is found in nearly all the larger valleys, and in most places 
is a desirable soil. Large sandy tracts are not numerous, and extensive 
gravelly areas are found almost exclusively in and near the Black Hills. 

Ijiicustrine silts have accumulated to considerablo depths in many 
basins in the glaciated part of the state. Most of the bed of glacial 
Lake Dakota is very fertile, partly for this reason. 

Distinctly eolian soils are limited to (a) loess, which caps many hills 
in Lincoln and northern Union counties, (b) loess-like silt-loam found 
along the eastern bluff of the Missouri River, and (c) small dune areas 
in the south-central part of the state along the Missouri River near Elk 
Point, and at a few other scattered localities. Excepting the sandy parts, 
eolian soils are in good repute among agriculturists. 

RowNlers are few except in the terminal moraine areas. In western 
South Dakota bowlders of a size to interfere with cultivation are of very 
local occurrence, chiefly on the flood-plains and terraces of streams head- 
ing in the Black Hills. Scattered fragments of concretions are met with 
in a few small areas. Belts of land which are ciuite stony, with angular 
fragments of flint, are distributed sparingly. There are large log-like 
sandstone concretions (Fig. 4) about some of the buttes in the north- 
western quarter of the state, portions of which interfere with the tillage 
of some small areas. 



"Todd. J. E.: Tbe Elk Point Folio, CSo. ir,6), U. S. Geol. Surv., ITO'; 



28 



THE GEOGIRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



1 



._;-^ 


^ 






J^l^^^^^^l 


1 


^H^B^^^^f^fl^^^^^^^^^l 




jUi^^M 


H 






^Hl 


i 





















Fig-. 4. Log-Like Concretion in the Ft. Union Formation, 
Harding Coun.y 



CHAPTER FOUR 

l^HYSIOGRAPHV 

General F'eatures, p. 29; Prairie Plains, p. 32; Great Plains, p. 39; 
Black Hills, p. 43. 

I. General Features 

Eastern South Dakota is a continuation of the prairies of Iowa and 
Minnesota. Most of the western half of the state is part of the Great 
Plains, but in the southwestern corner, an outpost (the Black Hills) of 
the Rocky Mountains rises conspicuously above the surrounding plains. 

(1) The Slope. The general slope of the state is from west to 
east. In the western half of tho state the principal rivers flow eastward 
and in the eastern half they flow southward. 

(2) The Relief. The highest point is Harney Peak in the southern 
Black Hills. This peak is 724 feet above sea level, an elevation greater 
than that attained by any peak in eastern North America. The lowest 
point is Bigstone Lake in the opposite corner of the state. Its elevation 
is 9 6.5 feet. The relief of the state is 627 5 feet, exceeding that of any 
state farther east except North Carolina (6,711 feet), New Hampshire 
(6,290). and Tennessee (about 6300.) 

Aside from the Black Hills and the small depression in the extreme 
northeastern corner, the relief is about 2600 feet or a half mile approx- 
imately. i Most of the eastern half of the state has a relief of less than 
500 feet, and large areas have a relief of much less than this. 

It appears that the mean elevation of the state is about 2,200 feet, 
the figure which, according to Murray's calculations, represents the average 
elevation of the lands of the globe. Out of thc< total area of 77,615 
squaro miles there are approximately: 

Below 1000 feet 2 70 square miles or 0.3% of total area. 

Between 1000-2000 feet 4 2,300 square miles or 54.5% of total area. 

Between 2000-3000 feet 23,000 square mile^s or 30% of total area. 

Between 3000-5000 feet 10,700 square miles or 13.5% of total area. 

Between 5000-7000 feet 1,380 square miles or 2.8% of total area. 

(3) Kuf'f'cdiies.s. Though possessing this considerable total relief, 
most of the state is far from rugged. The chief exceptions are parts of 
the Black Hills, .parts of the White River and other badlands, and some 
of the lands along the deeper valleys. Thousands of square miles in 
the Dakota Valley are nearly level. The total area with slopes of more 
than 15° certainly is less than 15 per cent of the whole. Even in the 
Big Badlands along the upper White River more than 80 per cent of the 
area is tillable as far as slope is concerned since most of the steep-sided 
buttes are separated widely by ne'arly level stretches. Figs. 5 and C illustrate 
such a "flat." The Black Hills contain tho largest untillable portion, 
but even in this mountainous area there are many farms along the fertile 
valleys and it is estimated that at least 5% of the area may be tilled. 2 

(4) Diaina^e. Most of the state lying east of a line which follows 
approximately the Missouri River across South Dakota ( the line is shown 
on the soil map, (Fig. 2) was glaciated by the Dakota lobe of the last 
(Wisconsin) ice sheet, and has the topography characteristic of plains 
glaciated recently. It is covered by a layer of drift which averages about 
a hundred feet in thickness. Most of the surface of this part of the 
state is gently undulating. Exceptions are many nearly flat areas where 

'Thp diffprence between 1100 feet in the Missouri Vnllpy near i'Mk Point 
and 3700 feet on the hipher butte.s w'thout the'RlTk Hill.s. 

=Prof. .Jenny, fiuoted bv McClure: Resources of Halvota, )>. ir.K, ( AbiTdccn, 
1887.) 



30 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 







Fig. 5. A view in the Badlands of Washington County; looking- from Sheep 
Mountain towards the \\'Tilte River. 




^'^'irHgated°w''wo^t^r'«.^!^Lf%'"'''"'^-^ "^ Washabaugh County. The garden i 
iriigaiea Dy water secured from a copious spring. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



31 



former lakes have been filled, and several low terminal moranic belts, 
which locally are somewhat rugged. The average elevation of the eastern 
half of the state is about 1500 feet, but in the matter of elevation there 
are two distinct provinces (Fig. 7.) These are: (1) the broad Dakota 
Valley with an elevation of approximately 1300 feet, and (2) the east 
and west coteaus or divides on either side, with an average elevation 
approaching -'000 feet. These broad divides are mesa-like, rather steep- 
sided, and nearly flat-topped. The drainage of eastern South Dakota 
is very poorly developed, and there are thousands of shallow "lake- 
beds." 

In the western half of the state, west of the Missouri River, the topo- 
graphy is in a mature stage of development, tllcugh there are broad 
terraces and tables, some of which are due to more resistant layers of rock, 
while others represent the tops of eld peneplains developed in earlier 
cycles of erosion. On such u])lands the slopes are very slight. The only 
undrained areas in this part of the state are the very shallow "blowouts" 
— basins made by the removal of the soil by wind. The rivers have cut 
rather deep valleys across the plains. Above the general level of the 
plains there are numerous conspicuous buttes and the Black Hills, while 
below it are the "badland basins" and most of the bad-land areas. 

2. The Physiographic Pi-oviiices 

Three main topographic subdivisions are rather distinct, namely, the 
Black Hills, the Great Plains, and the Prairie Plains. The Prairie 
Plains conveniently may be divided into three parts, namely, (1) the 
broad valleys in the southeastern corner, (2) the Dakota Valley, (3) the 
Coteaus, making a total of five subdivisions. The following map (Fig. 7) 
shows their location. 




Fig. 7. Physiographic Provinces 



32 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



I. THE PRAIRIE PIvAINS 

(I) The Southeastern River Valleys 

The lower portions of the valleys of the Sioux, Vermilion and Mis- 
souri rivers are treated separately from the rest cf eastern South Dakota, 
because (1) the broad flood-plains which comprise this subdivision are in 
distinct contrast with the rolling uplands on either side. These valleys 
lie for the most part some 50-100 feet below the South Dakota uplands, 
and from 200-400 feet below the adjacent uplands of Nebraska and Iowa. 
(2) Little of this subdivision was glaciated by the Wisconsin ice sheet, as 
was the rest of eastern South Dakota. (3) More abundant and reliable 
rainfall, a higher water-table, and a location which formerly made them 
more accessible than the remainder of the state from the East, have pro- 
duced a somewhat distinct agricultural development and have given these 
valleys a prominence in the state which warrant a somewhat detailed 
treatment. 

(a) Position. This irregularly shaped subdivision includes parts of 
several counties and nearly all of Union County. The limitations here 
adopted are indicated on fig. 7. The western limit is near Springfield, 
where the Missouri River leaves its post-glacial gorge — less than a mile 
wide, and enters a pre-glacial valley several miles wide. Similarly the 
Vermilion River below Centerville occupies a broad pre-glacial valley, while 
above that city its valley is much narrower. There is no definite nor- 
thern boundary in the Sioux Valley. The glacial margin is indistinct, and 
the topographic changes gradual. 

(b) Area. The area of this subdivision, is about 2000 square miles, 
or nearly the size of Delaware. 

(<) Topofijrapliy. The topography of this region is essentially plane. 
The elevation of the lowest part, near Sioux City, is 1100 feet. The 
gradient of the Missouri River in this region is about 6 inches per mile, or 
but half its average gradient across the state. In this province the Ver- 
milion River has an average gradient of about 16 inches per mile, and the 
Sioux, irrespective of the falls and rapids near Sioux Falls, a gradient 
of more than two feet per mile. In spite of its lesser gradient, the Mis- 
souri River, because of its greater volume^ has by far the swiftest current. 

Xaturnl levees are developed sufficiently well in each of the valleys 
to divert the tributary streams so that the'-r cinter their mains farther 
down stream than they otherwise would. The Vermilion and Sioux 
rivers themselves enter the flood-plain of the Missouri River several miles 
above the points where they join the master stream. The Elk Point 
quadrangle, within whose area these streams unite, affords therefore an 
excellent illustration cf the barrier influence of even very low levees. 
Levees are one of the causes cf extensive marshy lands within the Ver- 
milion and Sioux valleys. 

At present the Missouri River in this section is nowhere eroding the 
bluffs along its left bank, though it is under-cutting the western at many 
points. This may possibly be due to the influence of the rotation of the 
earth.- 

The falls and rapids near the city of Sioux Falls owe their existence 
to a change in the course of that stream. Instead of continuing its south- 
westward course, it turns in the city and flows northward over an escarp- 
ment of Sioux Quartzite. North of the city it turns again and passing 
around the end of a range of morainic hills which extends a few miles 
east of the city, continues southward to the Missouri River near Sioux 
City. 



"The larger the stream, the less local and temporary factors such as 

obstructions inllueiice its course. Small streams like the Vermilion and Sioux 

are thereforo less apt to show a in-edominRnoe of erosion on their west 

Oluffs than larger streams such as the Missouri River. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



33 




Fig 8. The falls of the Sioux River in the city of Sioux Falls. The height 
of the chief falls is about 20 feet. 




Fig. 



Sig. 



9. A view across the Sioux River Valley towards the State Penitentiary. 
—Courtesy C. M. & St. P. R. R. Co. 



34 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



This change in the course of tlie Sioux is ascribed to the last 
glacier. 4 A tongue of the Dakota lobe of ice reached a short distance 
beyond Sioux Falls from the west, deposited the morainic hills referred 
to in the preceding paragraph, and damned the pre-glacial course of the 
river, which, as shown by a broad pre-glacial valley, had been by way of 
Centerville to the Missouri. 

The Dalles and Palisades of the Sioux River and Split Rock Creek 
in Minnehaha and Mcody counties are gorges which these streams have 
eroded in the Sioux Quartzite. The walls are in places nearly vertical 
to tho height of from 20 to 40 feet, and pinnacles of this resistant rock 
give certain evidence that these localitie.? have not been glaciated recently. s 

Picturesque erosicnal features (Fig. 8, 9) have given this area more 
than a local reputation for scenic beauty. 

(2) THE DAKOTA YALLEYfi 

(u) Location. The Dakota Valley, as this term is used here, in- 
cludes the broad, nearly level stretch of land which lies between the 
Weesington Hills, Ree Heights and Coteau du Missouri on tho west, and 




^Flgr. 10. The Glacial Moraines. (From .John.son's South Dakota.) 



' =P?ofes;n,. 'Vo,?H"^'^f ^^* ^""^ ^5^' U. S. Geol. Survey, 1896, 1899. 
after fieir].v..m„.^ti^^'V"'®?„'"'' ^}}''^^ Cn^mM<.iiaiii, x^eveiett and he concluded, 
llacLted pIrioT together, that this area had not been glaciated in the 

officit Sm^-!.v"'*''V)?i f^n D^l^ota Valley has been mapped by the U. S. Geol- 
nfovtnp^ P^.i,.T fxT^^'i?^'"^,. '^°''"'' ^^^^^ of areas which are within this: 
Huron nTi\Y^L<J^.^\f:}< Olivet (No. 96); Alexandria (100); Mitchell (99); 
to theJ fniin« P^.n/*T'^H\'*\= Aberdeen-Redfield (165): 1903-1909. In addition 
to these folios, Prof. Todd has treated of parts of this area in "the Geology 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 35 

the Coteau des Prairies on the east. It is a basin more than 200 miles 
long in South Dakota, and has an average width of more than 60 miles, 
and therefore an area of more than 15,000 square miles — larger than 
either Belgium, Denmark or Maryland, and half the size of North 
Carolina. 

Brown, Spink, Beadle, Sanborn, Davison, Hanson and Hutchinson 
counties lie wholly within this province. The counties and parts of 
counties contained in this province are indicated on the outline map of 
the state dealing with the topographic provinces (Fig. 7.) 

(b) Topogi-aphy. The central part of the Dakota Valley from Huron 
to the Xorth Dakota state line, is nearly level. This is due partly to 
glacial Lake Dakota which occupied this region. Elsewhere within this 
great valley the relief is that of a gently undulating ground moraine 
crossed by several low recessional moraines (Pig. 10.)" 

The Dakota or James River'^ and some of its tributaries have trenched 
this basin only in its southern part (south of Huron.) Near its southern 
end,!' there are gorges more than a hundred feet deep. These are some- 
what .^erious obstacles to railroad building. The flood-plain of the Da- 
kota River averages about a mile in width throughout the southern half 
of its course; and perhaps half a mile in the northern half of its valley. 

Except in its central part, the Dakota Valley has many shallow, un- 
drained depressions characteristic of ground moraine topography. Most 
of these swales are normally dry. Some of them usually contain small 
amounts of standing water, and popularly are called "sloughs." All the 
undrained depressions occasionally contain some water, since the sub-soil 
is so impervious that underground drainnge is slow. There are few or 
no permanent lakes except in the recessional morainic belts, and these 
are small and shallow. 

(c) Relief. With the exception of low cliffs about the deeper lake 
beds, and bluffs along streams in the southern half of the area, the relief 
is so slight throughout the Dakota Valley that each section line is fol- 
lowed by a road throughout nearly or quite its entire length. Railroad 
building thea-efore is comparatively simple. There are several stretches 
of straight track scores of miles in length, and many long sections have 
no bridges. 

(d) Elevation. In elevation the Dakota Valley is peculiar in its 
uniformitv — approximately 13 00 feet. From Scotland (elevation 1300 
feet) on the south to Aberdeen (elevation 1300 feet) nearly two hundred 
miles to the north, and at widely scattered intermediate localities selected 
at random (Mitchell 1300, Woonsoeket 1320, Huron 1290, Redfield 
1306) the elevation is nearly the same. It is believed that in pre-glacial 
times the slope of most of the Dakota Valley was towards the north. lo 

The trenching by the Dakota River referred to in the previous 



and Water Resources of" (1) "a part of the lower James River ^^ alley 
(Water Supply Paper 90, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1904), (2) "a portion of .'south- 
eastern South Dakota," (Water Sui)ply Paper 34, 1900), and in Bulletins 1-3 
of the South Dakota Geol. Survey, 1894-1902. ^^ ^ , . , ,. i .u ^ 

"For a discussion of the moraines see the Geologic folios and other 
references mentioned in the preceeding note. ^ ^ , ..t -. ..r, 

"Mthouerh the National Geographic Board has adopted .Tames rather 
than "Dakota" as the name of this stream, the latter name seems preferable 
and will be used in this publication for the following^ reasons: (1) There 
are several other .lames Rivers in the United States, (2) this river is 
whollv within the Dakotas, and its basin forms a larpe and highly important 
section of these states, (3) the act establishing Dakota Territory in 18(53 
specifically declared that "henceforth this stream shall be called the Dakota 
River." (4) very few of the local residents call it the "James" River, 
(though many call it "the Jim.") ^ .,. tt c rr. u- a*! 

»See the Alexandria and Olivet sheets of the U. S. Topographic Atlas. 

i«Todd, J. E.: The Pleistocene History of the Missouri River, Science, 
pp. 264. 267. Feb., 1914. 



36 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



paragraph supplies the slight gradie/nt (six inches per mile across South 
Dakotaii) possessed by that sluggish stream. 

(e) In drainage, most of the Dakota Valle-' is defective. Of its 
approximately lil.OOO square miles, probably les" than one-fifth has 
exterior surface drainage — that is semds its runoff into outflowing rivers. 
The runoff of the remainder finds its way into swales or basins, from 
which most of its evaporates. Little sinks in, because of the relatively 
impervious glacial materials beneath the basins, At rare intervals the 
water in some of these basins, commonly called "lake-beds," overflows. 

Most maps of South Dakota show several tributaries of the Dakota 
River. While the tributary valleys are in many cases well marked for 
twenty or thirty, — a few as much as fifty miles, yet the streams normally 
are insignificant. There are few if any tributary streams which flow 
throughout the year for more than a few miles above their .junction with 
the main stream. Map publishers who show seJveral conspicuous tribu- 
taries of the Dakota River doubtless are led to do so from analogy with 
more humid regions, rather than by the facts of the case. 

The Dakota River itself was dry locally for a few days in 1893 
near Forestburg in Sanborn County; and has several times gone dry for a 
few days near Redfield in Spink County. It has been characterized as 
the longest unnavigable river in the United States. i-' 

(3) THE COTEAU REGIONSiJ 

(a) The remaining and larger part of South Dakota east of the 
Missouri River here is included under the heading "The Eastern and 
Western Coteaus or Divides." The former, known as the Coteau des 
Prairies, or, more popularly, "the Lake region of South Dakota," is the 
lofty, nearly fiat-topped, broad divide between the Dakota Valley on the 
west, and the Red, Little Minnesota, and lower Sioux valleys on the 
east. The Western Divide is between the Dakota Valley and the Missouri 
River. Its northern and more extensive portion is the southern end of a 
well marked divide in North Dakota, known as the Coteau du Missouri. 
The divide between the Missouri and Dakota valleys in South Dakota, is 
crossed by three broad pre-glacial valleys, and is therefore separated 
into four sections. From north to south there are (1) the extensive 
Coteau du Missouri proper, (2) Ree Heights, mostly in Hyde and Hand 
counties, (3) Wessington Hills, mostly in Jerauld County, and (4) Bijou 
Hills, mostly in Brule county. The coteaus are indistinct towards the 
southern part of the state. 

The only counties located wholly on the east coteau are Codington, 
Deuel, Hamlin, and Lake. On the western divide are Campbell Wal- 
worth, Potter, Sully, Hyde, Buffalo. Brule and Charles Mix counties. 
Portions of numerous other counties lie within this subdivision. (Fig. 7.) 

(b) The area included within this subdivision is nearly 20,000 square 
miles, or almost half the size of Ohio or Virginia. 

(c) Topographically the coteaus may be considered as extensive 
mesas standing some 500 to 700 feet above the Dakota Valley which 
separates them. Just east of the eastern coteau are the Red River and 

,o- "t9^'5"^^^^'? t''°"^ Gannett, Henry: Profiles of Rivers in the U S Bull 
12/, U. S. Geol. Survev. 

!i^u"^'-'^ Handbook of the United States, p. 794. (Buffalo. N, Y., 1S96 ) 
"There are no topographic maps of portions of this subdivision The 
references to publications dealing with this area are: Todd .T E • The 
Moraines of the Missouri Coteau and their attendant deposits. Bull. '144 U 
S Geol Survey, 1896. Todd. .1. E.: The Moraines of S. E. South Dakota and 
their attendant Deposits, Bull. l.-SS. U. S. Geol. Survev. 1899. Todd J E ■ 
TJ^*^ Pleistocene History of the Missouri River, Soieiiee Feb 1914 nn 2fi?' 
274 Darton. X. H.: The Geology and Water Resources of South Dakota 
Water Suppy Paper 227 U. S^ Geol. Survey. 1909. Upham, Warren Glacial 
Lake Agassiz. Mono.srapli XXV, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1889. <i"eii. vjidciai 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 37 

Little Minnesota valleys with their head-waters in Lakes Traverse and 
Bigstone, more than 1000 feet below the summit of the coteau. The 
Missouri River, just west of the western coteau, is 300 feet below 
its summit to the north, and nearly 700 feet below the Bijou Hills at 
the south. The tops of these coteaus are somewhat even. Most of both 
were glacier-covered. i* at least for a short time. 

The eastern coteau lay between the Dakota and the Minnesota-Iowa 
lobes of the ice sheet, and is margined and crossed by the three chief 
terminal morainesi'' (Antelope, Gary, Altamont), which are interlobate 
moraines in portions of this area. (Fig. 10.) 

(d) Elevation. In elevation, the summits over large areas of the 
eastern coteau reach approximately 2 000 feet (1950-2050) to the north- 
ward of Lake county. Farther south the elevations decrease gradually 
to only 1500 feet in northern Union County. The weetern coteau has 
several' extensive areas above 2000 feet, but the part known as Wessing- 
ton Hills does not attain quite that elevation. The three broad valleys 
which cross this divide have maximum elevations of 18 50 feet (at Hills- 
view between Aberdeen and Mobridge), 1650 feet (in the Ree Valley 
between Pierre and Redfield), and less than 16 00 feet (between Chamber- 
lain and Mitchell). Each of these valleys is taken advantage of by a 
railway. iG , 

(c) Drainage. On the east coteau there are many lakes. The 
larger are lakes Waubay, Kampeska, Poinsett, Preston, Thompson and 
Madison. The western coteau has smaller lakes, fewer of which are per- 
manent. This is due at least in part to increased aridity towards the 
west. The larger lakes on the western coteau are Wall, Andes, White 
and Red Lakes. 

The coteaus are largely undrained as indicated by their numerous 
lakes and the absence of streams. The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul 
Railroad between Madison and Bristol, about 90 miles, crosses not even 
a small creek or a bridge. However, short steep ravines are being eroded 
into the escarpments of several parts of the western coteau and at the 
head waters of the Little Minnesota River. 

GLACIAL LAKES 

Three sorts of glacial lakes have been important in South Dakota. 
(1) Lakes due to the temporary damming of valleys which extended 
beyond the ice, but discharged towards it. Examples of this class were 
formed along the periphery of the ice sheet, especially on the west. 
Lake Arikaree was a large body of water which resulted from the union 
of smaller lakes developed in the valleys of each of several of the east- 
ward flowing streams of that region. i" Glacial Red Lake in Brule county, 
Glacial Lake Andes in Charles Mix county, is and Lake Agassizi'J in the 
Red River Valley, a lake which reached a few miles southward into the 
northeastern corner of South Dakota, are other examples. 

These lakes, as extensive bodies of water, were all of brief duration. 
In South Dakota the chief indications of their former existence are 

"The Bijou Hills and the western iiortions of the Wessington Hills are 
^ X CG I-) t i o n s 

isTod>l,' J. E.: Bulletins 144 and 158 of the U. S. Geol. Survey, 1896, 1899. 

i"For a discussion of valleys that cross the west coteau see various papers 
by Todd, J. E., the latest of which are "The Pleistocene History of the Mis- 
souri River" Science, Feb.. 1914; "Glacial Channels in South l)akota," Bull. 
Geol Soc Am. Vol. 23, 1911; and "the Aberdeen-Redfield Folio," 1909. 

'■Todd, J. E.: The pleistocene History of the Missouri River, Science 
XXXTX, PI). 264, 273, 1914. , „ ,, ^ , „ 

"Todd: Glacial Channels in Southeastern South Dakota, Bull. Geol. Soc. 
Am., Vol. 23, pp. 463, 470. 1911. 

isUpham, Warren: Glacial Lake Agassiz, Monog. XXV, U. S. G. S., 18S9. 



3 8 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

(1) glacial bowlders floated bv icebergs beyond the margin of the ice 
sheet, and (2) slight wave-cut terraces. 

(2) Lakes due to erosion by the ire. Lakes Traverse and Bisstone 
are the only glacial lakes of South Dakota known to have rock basins. 
Many lakes on the drift may have been due to local erosion of the drift, 
or cf the mantle rock which covo"ed the solid rock when the ice came. 

(3) Lakes due to unequal deposition of drift. To this class belong 
the vast majority of South Dakota's lakes. Glacial Lake Dakota, 20 
which extended about 150 mileG north from Mitchell and had an average 
width of 3 miles or more, was the largest lake of this class. It owed 
its existence to twc' morainic dams across the Dakota Valley, one near 
Mitchell, and the other across the former outlet to the northeast leading 
to the Red River Valley in southern North Dakota. 

Most of the basins which ordinarily contain water are in the termi- 
nal or recessional morainic areas. The greater duration or permanence 
of water in these basins doubtless is favored by the fact that snow, which 
has been blown perhaps a score of miles across the plains, finds lodgment 
in the hollows of these more rugged morainic belts. Such hollows occas- 
ionally are drifted full of snow. 

Basins tliat continue to hnve no outlet do^ibtless will accumulate 
sufficient salt to give to the water thev mav contain a brackisii character. 
The reason why none in the glaciated section of South Dakota have yet 
reached that stage doubtless is due to (1) their youth, relative to the 
rate of salt accumulation, (2) to the accumulation of silt, which tends 
to bury, after each rain, any film of salt which may have been de'posited 
previously. (3) An additional probably minor factor which will help 
explain the freshness of the water in the lake-beds of eastern South Da- 
kota is that during the recurrent periods when the basins are dry, the 
wind tends to distribute widely the salt accumulated. The last two 
factors, though operative in western South Dakota, have not prevented the 
development of some alkali lakes. The glacial drift of eastern South 
Dakota probably has nearly as much salt in it as have the subsoils of 
most of the un-glaciated part of the state, as the formations underlying 
the drift over large areas in eastern South Dakota and North Dakota, 
whence the glacier came, are the same' as outcrop widely in the un- 
glaciated part (Geologic map. Fig. 1.) 

Most lakes are surrounded by a belt of bowlders. These probably 
were accumulated in the following ways: (a) The erosion of the shore 
of the lake by waves. The fine material of the drift worn away by 
waves was sjiread over the bottoms of the lakes, while the bowlders were 
left at the shore, (b) As the glacier melted back, some of the bowlders 
which had been in or on the glacier doubtless were floated out on ice- 
bergs and dropped chiefly near the margins where the icebergs grounded, 
(c) The thrust of the lake ice, often active in areas where the temperature 
ranges below 32° are pronounced, tends forcefully to concentrate the 
smaller bowlders on the margin. If after the lake is frozen over, the 
temperature falls greatly, as it frequently does in South Dakota, the ice 
contracts and is not sufficient to cover the lake. Cracks are formed in 
it, or much less frequently in shallow lakes, the ice is drawn away from 
the shore. The water which thus is exposed to the cold atmosphere 
soon freezes, and the lake again becomes ice covered. With the marked 
rise in temperature which follows the passage of the cold "snap," the 
ice covering expands greatly and becoming too large for the lake, exerts 
a powerful thrust on the shore, or buckles up, or both. 22 



fT^odd, J. E.: The Abercleen-Redfleld Folio, U. S. Geol. Surv , 1909 
-.-. -',1;?°"- •L" ^-.'n-, .^^® Pleistocene History of the Missouri River, Science, 

A.A.A.1A^, p. Zb 1 , 1914. 

--Salisl)ury. U. D. : rhysiography, "Work of Lake Ice," (New York, 1908.,) 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 39 



Many lake-bed shores are distinctly steep. Their low cliffs at most 
points not more than a few feet high, probably are the result of the 
cutting of the waves supplemented by the thrust of the lake ice. 

II THE GREAT PLAINSs^^ 

The most extensive physiographic province of South Dakota is the 
Great Plains (Fig. 7.) This is the long slope from the foothills of the 
Black Hills and the western border of the state to the Missouri River. 

(a) The area of the Great Plains in South Dakota is approximately 
35,000 square miles or nearly one-half of the state. All of the counties 
of western South Dakota except Lawrence, lie entirely or partly within 
this province. 

(b) Topography. It already has been stated that the western half 
of the state is in a mature stage of erosion, but that within the province 
there are extensive nearly level areas, called benches or tables, some of 
which represent former erosion levels and others the outcrop of more 
resistant horizontal rock formations. The general gentle eastward slope 
has been roughened by the erosion of running water. It is interrupted 
by somewhat deeply intrenched stream valleys, and, more conspicuously, 
by buttes. (Fig. 11.) 

The more prominent buttes, named from the southern part of the 
state northward, are: Porcujiine Peak, Eagles' Nest, Turtle Butte, Sheep 
Mt., Bigfoot Butte, Cedar Mt., White-Clay, Grindstone, Virginia and 
Rabbit Buttes, Fox Hills, Castle Rock, Deers Ears and Haystack Buttes. 
The larger, possessing considerable timber, are in Harding County, and 
are, in the same order, the Short Pine Hills, Slim Buttes, and Cave Hills. 

The buttes are mostly on present or recent divides and have per- 
sisted because they were far from the main streams, and because of the 
presence of a resistant capping rock. 

The steep-sided character of the buttes, which in no little degree 
is responsible for their conspicuousness, is the result of the cap rock, 
infrequent rains, and wind work. The wind has excavated a distinct 
depression around the base of many of the buttes, and in all cases has 
tended to prevent the accumulation of extensive talus. As a result of 
the extreme steepness, extensive slumping has taken place on the slopes 



-^References to literature on this province are: The bulletins of the 
South Dakota Geological Survey all con.sider at least brieriy this province: 
Bulletin 1 (1894), A I'reliminary Report on the Geology of South Dakota, by 
J. E. Todd, treats very briefly of tlie plains. Bull. 2 (isys), contains reports 
by Prof. Todd on reconnoissance trips through southern counties, (pp. 117- 
1^5), and into the northwestern corner of the state (pp. 43-68). Bull. 3 
(1902) has orief mention of this area in "Mineral Building Materials, Fuels 
and Waters of South Dakota, pp. 81-130, by J. E. Todd. Bull. 4 (19U8) con- 
tains preliminary reports upon the geology of the northwest-central portion 
of Souch Dakota, by J. E. Todd (pp. 13-76, 193-207) and on Gregory and Tripp 
counties by E. C. Peri.'^ho dip. 82-133). Bull. 5 (1912), dealing with the 
south-central part of the state, contains reports on the geography by S. S. 
Visher and on the geology by S. S. Visher and E. C. Perisho (pp. 31-60). Bull. 
6 (1914), by S. S. Visher, is upon the biology of Harding County, but contains 
various references to the geography 

Darton, N. H., in two government reports upon geology and water re- 
sources, (Prof. Paper 32 on The Great I'lains. and Water Supply Paper 227 
on South Dakota), makes brief mention of this section of South Dakota. 

O'Harra, C. C. : The Bad Land Formations of the Black Hills Region, 
Bull. 9, S. D. School of Mines, 1910. 

Perisho, E. C: Science XXXHl, March, 1911, pp. 463-4 (Harding County, 
S. D.) 

Coffev, G. N. : A Reconnaissance soil map of ^^'estern South Dakota, 
Report of Field Work for 1909. U. S. Bureau of Soils. 

Todd, J. E.: The Hydrographic History of South Dakota. Bull. Geol. 
Soc. Am., Vol. 13 (1901), pp. 27-40. 



40 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



m 




Fig-. 11. Thunder Butte, Ziebach County. A typical butte. Note the team and 
rig near the base of the butte. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 41 

of many of the buttes.-* Basins which contain ponds have been produced 
by slumping on the flanks of Slim Buttes and the Short Pines Hills. 

The summit areas of the forest-reserve-buttes of Harding Countv and 
Sheep Mountain in the Badlands total many square miles. Most of the 
other buttes have very limited flatfish tops, and, therefore, have pro- 
gressed much further on the road to extinction — the fate of all mon- 
adnocks. 

Minor buttes are rather numerous. Mention has been made of the 
"Tepee Buttes" in the chapter on geology (p. 19.) They are in groups 
rti certain sections, notably in parts of Harding. Meade, and Fall River 
counties, and decrease greatly the agricultural utility of the areas affected. 

(c) Elevation. The 2000 foot contour follows up the tributaries 
of the Missouri River 15 to 2 miles from their mouths, but the diyides 
are higher than 2000 feet almost to the Missouri RiveT. The highest part 
of the plains, about 3700 feet, is on the Pine Ridge in Shannon county. 
About the same ele^vation is attained in the forested buttes of Harding 
County. The base of the outer rim of the foothills of the Black Hills has 
an elevation of from 3200 to 3 500 feet. The average elevation of the 
Great Plains section is perhaps 2S00 feet. 25 

(d) The drainage of this province is almost complete. There are five 
rivers which drain sub-equal areas. From north to south they are 
(1) Grand River, 26 (2) Moreau or Owl River,27 (3) Cheyenne River, 28 
(4) Teton or Bad River, 29 and (5) White River. "o 

The gradients of these streams are considerable — averaging from 8 to 
10 feet per mile. The run-off therefore is very rapid in contrast with the 
streams in the eastern half of the state. 

There are water-holes cf two sorts on the plains. (1) the most 
numerous are small depressions which have been excavated bv the wind. 
Most of these are only a few yards across and a few inches deep, though 
some have an area of several acres or more, and a depth of a few feet. 
Some of the larger ones locally are called lakes — Timber Lake in Dewey 
County being an example. The prevalent direction of their longer axes is 
northwest-southeast, from which direction come the stronger and more 
frequent winds during the seasons when the surface is dry and most 
easily excnvated. 

(2) Valley water-holes are also very numerous especially in the 
upner. shallower, parts of vallpys. Diir-ng times of very heavy rains, 
even these shallow vallevs are filled with torrents which locally cut out 
little basins, which contain water for considerable intervals after showers, 
to the great advantage of mosquitoes, stock, and man. 



2'Concernins slumpina- on the Slim Buttes see- Winclr^ster. T>. K.: C^-oss- 
bprMine: in thf Whito Rix'or Formation of N. W. So. Pak.. .Toi'-. of GpoI., 
XXT, pp. .'>51-554. 191?!. ConcorninR- other butte';, see r>evi=1in, K. C : '^be 
OeoloRv of Harding County, S. D. Science. R. S. Vol XXXTTT, n. 46 1. 1011. 
Corcerniner slumping- alonp- the Missouri River, see Todd, .T. K.: Bull. 4, 
S. D. Geol. Shrvey. pn. 31. .32. 1908. 

^f'Tbf^re are detailed U. S. toposrranhic mans of the section bordering- the 
Black Hills only. Th" large maps of the stot". Platos T r-nd ^'T. in Bar- 
ton's "rJeolog-y and Undere-ronnd "V^'^^ters in Soutb Bakota" ("U'ater-Siiiipl.v 
paper 227. 1909) show contour* of 250 feet interval. 

^■So-called by Lewis and Clarl<, because of the imi'osing scenery at its 
moutb. 

^Tho T\'estern Great Horned Owl seems to nest especially plentifully 
alonpr thp banks anri bli'Ts of this st''eam. 

28From "chien." the French word for dofr — a name said to be given be- 
caus'=> '~'f t*^*:- mar^' '■•rairie dop-s of tVip r^e-ion. 

2»The Teton Indians occupied this valley at the time of the earlier 
voyagers. Lewis and Cl^rk named this stream the Bad River because they 
were mistreated here by the Indians. The nnme lias persisted because of 
the b^d reputation of th-^ stream for sudden flooding. 

™From the color produced by the erosion of the badland beds. 



42 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



Badlands.'! Rugged areas, largely barren cf vegetation, are found in 
various sections of western South Dakota. Surli areas are popularlv called 
badlands. The Big Bad Lands alcng the White and Cheyenne rivers in 
Stanley, Pennington, Mellette, Washabaugh, Washington, and Custer coun- 
ties include perhaiJS 9 5 per cent of the more conspicuous badland areas 
of the state. Badlands are develoned on the same geolog'c formation 
near the East Short Pine Hills and Slim Butte in Harding county. Bad- 
lands on other formations are distributed widelv, especially along the 
sreams and divides, and about the b^ses of buttes. 

Badlands are not worthless land°: this is illustrated bv Fig. 6 and 
proved by many farms and ranches. They were given this name because 
they were found by the Indians and early explorers'^ to be hard to cross. 
This is due to three main characteristics: (1) Most of the slopes are 
very steep, too steep to ascend or descend with a wagon, so that "the 
walls" and "jump offs" offer great obstacles to travelers unfamiliar with 
the region.' (2) Many of the small gullevs have vertif-al banks, and in 
the absence of bridges, it may be necessary to go considerable distances 
in order to cross them. (3) Surface water in the badlands usually is 
scanty and uninviting to say the least, though not harmful. Shallow 
wells generally have good water. 

The topography of the badlands — and South Dakota badlands are 
type badlands — is very interesting. The sculpturing is fascinating and 
suggests cathedrals, towers, statuary, haystacks, the billows of an ocean 
and many other objects. 

Clays, marls, and sandstones, many of which are gaily colored, are 
exposed to view. These varied tints, in most cases reds, salmons or yel- 
lows, but in some places purples and whites, add greatly to the attract- 
iveness of badlands. 

"One anproaching the badlands may gradually a'-cend a rolling, grassv 
surface, until he suddenly comes to a crest of ridge and finds himself 
gazing from a height of 200 to 400 feet upon a labvrinth of winding 
ravines and narrow ridges, which in some places widen into bread buttes 
capped with tables formed by harder strata or surmounted with slender 
pinnacles, reminding one of the spires of a cathedral. At other points 
the harder beds stand out as cornices and buttresses around the more 
prominent buttes. While this may appear near by, further away he may 
see graceful rounded domes and ridges, which remind one of hay-stacks 
or railroad embankments, where they continue as narrow ridges, with 
their tops extending upon the same level for some distances. "«3 

Badlands are developed when certain conditions are combined. 
(1) The rainfall occasionally must come in heavy showers, or "cloud- 
bursts" but must not be sufficiently abundant and regular to permit of 
a close vegetal cover. (2) The materials mu°t be equallv and incom- 
pletely indurated. In most places they are clays or shales with only 
relatively thin lavers of sandstone or limestones. In South Dakota the 
Tertiary clays (especially the Oligocene clays) seem to be most favorable, 
though the bad-land tvpe of topography is developed in semi-arid regions 
in many formations, during the early maturity stage of erosion (a third 
condition.) 

On the steeper slopes of the badlands there is little vegetation. 

"'Recent publications on the badlands are: O'Harra, C. C. : The Badland 
Formations of the Blacli Hills Region, Bull. 9, South Dakota School of Mines. 
1910. which summarizes iirevious publications; and Visher S S : The Geo- 
graphy of south-central South Dakota, Bull. 5, South Dakota Geol. Survey, 
I'D. l-ef*. 1912: also Visher. S. S. : Erosion in the Badlands, The .Journal of 
Geography, 1912. 

s^These areas were called La Mauvaise Terra by early traders, (Hale, 
Ed. K.: Kanzas and Nebraska, p. 67, N. Y., 1854), and Makochi, (land), 
Sica, (bad), by the Indians. (S. D. Dept. of Hist. Coll.. Vol. VI, n. 274 1912) 

asTodd, J. E.: S. D. Geol. Surv., Bull. 1, p. 103, 1894 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



43 



This is due to (1) the rapid drying and extensive crumbling of the clay, 
thus preventing the growth of seedlings. (Fig. 12.) (2) During occas- 
ionally severe rain storms, the slopes are worn so rapidly that those plants 
which have obtained a start are undermined and usually killed. 




Fig-. 12. A rugged part of the B: 



iiiils, Stanley County 



Sand Hills 

A strip a few miles wide along the southern border of Shannon, 
Bennett and Todd counties is occupied by sandhills similar to those which 
cover much of western Nebraska. In South Dakota the relief is moderate 
(about 2 feet), there are few lakes, almost none of which are alkaline, 
and relatively few of the hills are active dunes. Elsewhere in western 
South Dakota, where sandstones outcrop, notably in Todd, Tripp and 
Harding counties, there are areas of sandy soil in which, in most places, 
the local relief is slight, and the movement of sand by the wind is not 
extensive except where the sod has been destroyed. 



IIIv THE BLACK HILLS34 

The Black Hills mass is a truncated dome about 100 by 5 miles 
in extent, nearly the size of Connecticut, two-tnirds of which is in south- 
western South Dakota, the other third in northeastern Wyoming. Several 
peaks, such as Harney, Teriy, Custer, and St. Eimo, rise more than 
6,500 feet above sea level. The limestone plattau near the South Dakota- 
Wyoming boundary is eroded less and is higher than most of the rest 
of the area, reaching a height of more tnan 7 000 feet 33 Many canyons, 



''^There is an extensive literature on the geograpliy and geology of the 
Black Hills. For a bibliography of 217 titles published before 1900 .see 
O'Harra. C. C. : South Dakota School of Mines, liuU 4. More than two 
score "contribution.s" to the subject have been published since 1S99. Dar- 
ton, N. H.: Preliminary l^escrijjtion of the Geology and Water Resources of 
the southern half of the Black Hills. 21st Annual Report, U. S. Gtol. Sur- 
vey, Pt. 4, pp. 489-599, 1901; and The Geology and Water Resources of the 
Northern Black Hills, Prof. Paper 65, U. S. G. S., 1900, are excellent general 
treatments. Folios No. 85, 107, 108, 127, 128, 150, 165, of the U. S. G. S. 
J D Irving: Economic Resources of the Northern Black Hills, U. S. G. S., 
Prof. Paper No. 26. T. A. Jagger: Laccoliths of the Black Hills, U. S. G. S., 
21st Ann. Rpt., Pt. Ill, are more detailed. 

^Next to Harney Peak in elevation is the crest of this plateau a few 
miles to the northwest of this point is unnamed on the topographic maps, 
but locally is known as "Crooks Tower," (Tallent, A. D. : The Black Hills, 
p. 104, St. Louis,* 1899). 



44 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



some of them more than 1000 feet deep, add much to the picturesqueness 
of the Black Hills. 

The Hills as a whole are a mountainous region which has an average 
elevation of more than 5000 feet, a rugged topography, extensive ex- 
posures of firm rock, and heavy forests, which as seen from the distance 
appear nearly black. This area is in distinct contrast to the surrounding 
less rugged grassy plain developed at an average elevation of perhaps 
3000 feet on formations which are in most places poorly consolidated. 

The Black Hills province is divisible into four distinct physiographic 
regions, three of which form zones which surround the fourth or central 
area. These are shown in a generalized cross section (Fig. 13.) 




Fig-. 13. A Diag-ramatic Cross-Section of the Black Hills 

(2) The outermost are the hog-back ridges fcuestas) which form the 
foothills. Their crests reach an altitude of 4500 feet, and their slopes 
are too steep for cultivation. 

(3) "The Red Valley," some • 800-1000 feet lower, is in most cases 
only two miles or so wide, and is largely tilled. 

(4) The "limestone country" zone, varying in width from two to 
more than 15 miles, and averaging nearly 6000 feet in elevation, forms 
a sort of plateau into which canyons are cut. The more notable canyons 
in South Dakota are those of Rapid, Boxelder, Elk and Spearflsh Creeks, 
and Fall River. The limestone country is extensively forested but has 
some farms on terraces and on the gently sloping summit portions. 

(5) The more open "park area," developed on the schist, slate, and 
igneous rock, has many broad valleys lower than the limestone plateau, 
but includes the higher peaks such as Harney, Terry, and Custer. There 
is a good deal of cultivated land in the broader valleys. 

The drainage of the Black Hills is by tributaries of the Cheyenne 
River, forks of which nearly surround this area. The north fork is 
known as the Bellefourche River. The chief streams named from the 
south northward are Fall River, French Creek, Spring Cree.k, Rapid 
Creek, Box-elder Creek, Elk Creek, Spearfish Creek, Red-water Creek. 
Rapid and Spearfish creeks are the larger. 

The gradients of the streams are what might he expected in a low 
mountainous area. Falls, however, are infrequent. A tributary (the 
little Spearfish) falls over a limestone deposit some 3 feet into Spear- 
fish canyon. 3" Fall river has a low fall over a resistant ledge of rock. 

Sink holes are few, and confined mainly to the thin limestone over- 
lying the red-beds. There are caves, however, in the other limestones. 
Crystal Cave in Elk Canyon and Wind Cave-" near Hot Springs are both 
rather extensive, and there are many smaller ones. They seem to have 
been developed before the extensive dissection of the anticline dome by 
sub-aerial erosion had taken place. 



s'^^Todd, J. E.: Bull. 2, S. D. Geol. Survey, pp. 80, 81, 1S98 

=^Todd, J. E.: Bull. 1, S. D. Geol. Survey, pp. 48-50, 1894; Bull. 2, p. 72, 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 45 

Although the Black Hills lack snow capped peaks and some of the 
magnificent grandeur of more lofty and rugged mountains, they possess 
a great deal of scenic beauty. In contrast with the dry plains which 
extend for at least a hundred miles in each direction, they are very 
attractive. The Harney range is the part which is most picturesque from 
a distance. •'From the east it suggests a vast mass cf thunder clouds 
rising along the western horizon. Seen from the height south of 
Custer, the crest of the range has much the appearance of a saw lying 
with teeth upwards; and a view from the northeast presents a wonderful 
landscape of lofty mountain peaks, tremendous precipices, and a vast and 
almost inaccessible wilderness. "^'^ From the peak itself "we see a wilder- 
ness of wooded peaks encircled by a broad valley, the Red Valley, which 
the Indians call the Race course, this in turn enclosed by a wall of foot- 
hills. All is curiously symmetrical — a castle of geologic dimensions, with 
domes and turrets and a broad moat within its ramparts "-•' Fifty miles 
to the southeast, the milk-white cliffs of the badlands can be seen. Nearly 
as far to the north-northeast whitish Bear Butte stands conspicuous just 
beyond the dark pine forest. Eighty milo'S to the north, several lesser 
buttes including Dears Ears and Castle Rock, may be seen through the 
haze. To the northwest the mountainous landscape is continued by 
the Bearlodge Mountains. The light colored area there'n is the granitic 
culmination, Warrens Peaks. To the west, more than a hundred miles 
distant, the Bighorn mountains may be sesn occasionally, it is said 



ssAndreas. A. T.: Historical Atlas of Dakota, p. 107, (Chicago, 1S84) 
=»Ogden. A.: .V Ride Through the Black Hills, Atlantic Monthlv, April 
1892, p. 455. 



46 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



.i"^- 




^m 


*- •■■■'*:? 


, :*- 


lA-% ^2K 


^1^': 


■ ■V. : . "- '■, - 




1 








It;'--: 




_r: 




'" ;^^.^;i 




. ^ •** 


:-:*:i«'-=-'^ 












^^H 




?^ 




"-. 


"■^^ 




S^S 


k 


^ 


l^s#?i/ 


"^ 






m 


■^5 


'^0 


^" ^ 






M 




1 


k 






• • 




____ ^^% 


w 


-i^^ 











Fig. 14. One of the thou.sand.s of superb views of the Black Hills 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



47 




Fig-. 



15. The famous Granite "Needles" 
n the Southern Black Hills. 



near Harney Peak and Svlvan Lake 



48 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



.-^%k 



.^' 



■=^''^ M^'' 




Fig:. 16 Beai' Butte near the northeastern corner of the Black Hills- 
a .--■trikins landmark. jjich-jv niii& 




Fig. 17. In the foothills of the Bl 



ack Hills near Sturg-is 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



49 




Fig-. 18. Slyvan Lake. A view in the Granite Area near Harney Peak, Custer 
County. 



Sig.— 4. 



CHAPTER FIVE 

THE CLIMATE 

General Characteristics, p. 50; Factors determining, p. 50; Winds, 
p. 50; Temperature, p. 53; Length of Day, p. 58; Humidity, p. 59; Evap- 
oration, p. 60; Cloudiness, p. 60; Precipitation, p. 60; Variability of 
weather, p. 66; Supposed changes in climate, p. 67. 

I. General Cliaractei'istics 

The climate is invigorating. Clear skies and stimulating breezes 
prevail. Though great ranges of temperature occur, the dryness of the 
atmosphere helps to keep the sensible temperatures more nearly uniform. 
The summer season is usually long and warm enough for raising corn. 
The normal annual precipitation is sufficient for the crops grown. i The 
seasonal distribution of precipitation is very favorable, since slightly more 
than three quarters normally fall during the six months, April-October 1. 
The autumns and winters have relatively little precipitation, to which fact 
is due the naturally-cured hay furnished by the native grasses, as heavy 
autumn rains, when they occur, leach out much of the nutrition. The 
"openness" of the winters encourages grazing and permits a greater 
amount of social intercourse among the rural population than could be 
the case were there deep snows. 

The chief climatic handicaps are: (1) irregularity in the amount 
and distribution of precipitation; and (2) unseasonable low temperatures 
in the growing season. Periods of drought are common, but the south- 
eastern quarter of the state never has had a general failure of both the 
corn and small grain crops. In the western part of the state especially, 
the normal amount of rain in some years may fall in such short, heavy 
showers that most of it runs off and thus is of little benefit to the crops. 
Late killing frosts in the spring are not Infrequent and are a menace 
to fruit growing and occasionally injurious to corn. Early autumn frosts 
occasionally damage corn and flax crops especially in the northern sections. 

2. Factors Determining the Climate 

The climate of South Dakota is determined by (1) the latitude, (2) 
the position of the state in the continental interior, and (3) the winds. 
The position of South Dakota gives it a continental type of climate with 
hot summers and cold winters, and means remoteness from sources of 
moisture. Because of the latitude (43°-46°) the days are long during the 
growing season. The state is located within the belt of prevailing westerly 
winds and is affected by many of the cyclonic storms which cross the 
continent in that belt. The winds are the chief agents in the distribution 
of moisture. They also greatly influence temperatures and relative 
humidity. 

3, Winds 

Northwest winds prevail during the colder six months and southeast 
winds during the warmer six months. Winds from other directions are of 
relatively short duration. 2 The prominence of northwest and southeast 

^If 8 inches of water are available for the use of growing wheat, its 
moisture requirements are filled. In no section of the state is the amount 
of rainfall normally received during the growing- season as low as 11 
inches (SI per cent of 14 inches). Since the runoff in large sections is con- 
siderable and the rate of evaporation is very rapid, agricultural practices 
Which conserve the moisture (dry farming) generally are necessary in the 
drier i)ortions of the state. 

=There is an exception at Rapid City, due to its location just east of a 
gap through a lofty ridge which ideflects the wind from northwest to west, 
resulting in a prevailing- west wind. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 51 

winds is due to the influence of cyclonic storms whose centers pass east- 
ward over or near South Dakota. 

Most of the winds are of moderate velocity — the average being about 
ten miles an hour. There are very few calm days, about 10 in the year, 
though calm nights are frequent. In the vallevs nnd lowlands the wind 
often increases in force as the day advances and dies down at nightfall, 
but this is not often the case on buttes. 

The persistent and moderate velocities of the wind favor the use 
of windmills, which have become very numerous except where artesian 
flows may be obtained readily. 

The rate of evaporation is higher than it would be if winds were less 
persistent. Thus they strongly influence sensible temperatures and in- 
crease transpiration from vegetation, making the water requirements of 
crops somewhat greater than in sections having less wind. 

(a) Wind Velocities. The average wind velocity, (in miles per 
hour) for the most windy and the least windy months at four South 
Dakota and one northern Nebraska station is shown by table l.^ 

Table 1. Average Wind Velocity in Miles per Hour 



Section 








of State 


April 


July 


Year 


East 


13.8 


10.4 


11.6 


Central 


12.1 


9.2 


9.3 


West 


9.3 


7.5 


8.1 



Huron, S. D 

Pierre, 3. D 

Rapid City, S. D 

Yankton, S. D S. E. 10.8 6.4 8.4 

Valentine, Neb N. Cent. 13.0 10.0 11.0 

The differences between the several stations appear to be due to 
differences in local conditions. Huron and Valentine are located on nearly 
level plains. The other stations are protected somewhat, Pierre from 
east winds by the bluffs along the Missouri Valley in which this city is 
located, and Rapid City from northwest and southwest winds by foothills 
of the Black Hills (Fig. 42.) 

(b) Gales. For the decade 1891-1900 Pierre had an annual average 
of 18.8 days with gales:* Huron an average of 35.7 days, and Sioux 
City, Iowa, 2 7.3 days. The months with the most numerous gales and 
the average number in each for that decade is shown by table 2.5 

Table 2. — Monthly Distribution of Gales during the ten years 1891-1900. 

Station NW N NE E SE S SW W Total 

Pierre, S D 80 21 15 16 17 13 3 23 188 

Huron, S D 97 10 10 3 143 52 15 27 357 

Sioux City, la 138 22 1 5 21 70 10 6 273 

Table 3 — Total number of days with gales — winds of 40 miles per hour 

and over from the direction as indicated during the ten years 1891- 
1900. 

Station Jan. Feb. Mch. Apr. May Ju. July Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec. Ann. 

Pierre, S. D. 13 11 17 18 22 28 19 17 13 14 10 6 188 

Huron, S. D. 22 17 33 49 43 42 25 18 39 27 27 15 357 

Sioux City, la 20 29 29 42 32 26 12 11 20 19 16 17 273 



^Summaries of Climatological Data of U. S. Bull. W., U. S. Weather 
Bureau, Sects. 33. 34, .35. 

^Gales as defined in the report from which these data arc taken ar© 
winds ot more than 40 miles per hour. 

i^Tables 2 and 3 are from Henrv, A. .1., The Climatology of the United 
States. Bull. Q., U. S. Weather Bureau, p. 74, 1006. 



52 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

When gales are associated with low temperatures and snow the 
result is a blizzard. When they are associated with high temperatures 
and low humidity they become blasting "hot winds." 

The fact that the prevailing direction of the stronger winds has 
influenced the shape of blowouts has been noted in the physiographic 
section. 

(c) ToniHdoe-.s, often called cyclones, sometimes occur in South 
Dakota, especially in the southeastern quarter. They are very irregular 
in their distribution. Several years may pass without any, and then 
there may be several in one year. They are the most destructive type 
of storm known, but happily the area affected is very restricted. Even 
in ' the states most affected by tornadoes, the probability that a given 
square mile will be crossed has been calculated at much less than 1-16 
of one per cent per century. s 

(d) Blizzards. The blizzard is a much less frequent visitor than 
is generally supposed by non-residents, and as a result of the conditions 
attending the settlement of the rural districts, the construction of more 
commodious and more substantial farm buildings, fencing, and the more 
complete preparation for winter, such storms should be much less injurious 
than formerly." 

The blizzards that gave Dakota a reputation for severe winters were 
those of the days of the early settlement of the territory when the home- 
steaders in their temporary quarters were ill prepared for stornns. The 
last blizzard which caused much destruction was in 1888. After several 
mild days it commenced to snow and blow very hard on January 12-13 
(it took a day for the storm to travel from Pierre to Yankton.) Two or 
three feet of snow fell in an hour or two, after which the temperature 
fell to -3 0° and the wind increased its velocity to 4 miles per hour. 
The snow drifted phenomenally as the high wind continued until many 
buildings were nearly filled with snow through even very small openings. 
Railroad and wagon travel was interrupted at many points. For several 
weeks many domesticated, as well as wild, animals suffered for lack of 
food, and some thousands of the weaker animals died. It is reported 
that 112 human lives were lost in what is now South Dakota as a result 
of this storm. ^ By means of the telegraph and telephone, warning can 
now be sent out widely, i=io that some special preparation may be made 
since severe storms approach slowly. 

(e) Hot Winds. It is not unlikely that the extension of the tilled 
area has reduced the injury inflicted on any given locality by hot winds, 
because cultivated fields, now very extensive, absorb the rainfall much 
more completely than did the native turf. While formerly much of the 
rainfall ran off into sloughs or stream' channels, now a larger per cent is 
retained in the sub-soil of the extensive tilled areas and forms a reservoir 
from which the crops draw. Nevertheless winds which are very drying 
still occur, and if their occurrence coincides with a period of deficient 
soil-moisture, vegetation suffers severely, especially sorts which are unable 
to absorb water approximately as rapidly as it is transpired. Some crop is 
ruined in some parts of the state nearly every year by a hot wind at a 
critical time. In 1911 a hot wind which persisted for several hours 
blasted, in several counties centering about Hyde County, wheat which 
was "in the milk." No attempt was made to harvest such fields. Certain 
animals, notably some amphibians, and insects which are in the larval 
stage or have recently pupated, are killed in some cases by excessively 
rapid evaporation. 



"Henry, A. .T. : Tlie Climatolosv of the U. S., Bull. Q., U S Weather 
Bureau, p. 77. 1906. 

'Glenn, S. W.: Summary for Sect. 34. U. S. Weather Bureau, p. 2, 1909. 

sRobinson, Doane: Outline of South Dakota's History, S. D. Dept of Hist, 
Coll. Vol. II, p. 99, 1904. ' ^ • 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



53 



4. Temperature 

(a) Mean Annual. Fig. 19 is a map showing the average annual 
isotherms for the state. The mean annual temperature of the state is 
about 45°, 9 for the eastern half about 44.5°, and for the western half 
about 45.6°. The northern counties have an annual mean about 5° 
lower than the southern counties. For reasons to be discussed, the north- 
eastern quarter of the state is the coldest and the southeastern the 
warmest (while the southwestern has the least cold in winter.) Green- 
wood in Charles Mix county, however, for many years reported the highest 
monthly and annual mean. The coldest station is Roslyn in Day County. 
Winds which are warmed by descent from the Rocky Mountains, but 
which soon lose their excess heat, make the western half of the state 




Fig. 19. Map showing- the more important Weather Bureau Stations; the 
prevailing wind direction; and the average annual temperature. 

warmer than the eastern. Local topographic conditions at Greenwood in 
the Missouri Valley and at Spearfish in the Black Hills favor temperatures 
nigher than normal at nearby stations. The Black Hills are a com- 
plicating factor in respect to temperatures. 

(b) Mean Monthly Temperatures. The mean monthly temperatures 
for Huron, Pierre, and Rapid City are as follows: lo 



Huron 

(1882-1905) 
Pierre 

(1892-1905) 
Rapid City 

(1888-190.-J) 



Table 4 — Mean Monthly Temperatures 

Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec. 

9.5 12.9 26.7 44.6 57.3 66.6 71.5 69.1 59.6 44.7 27.4 15.7 

13.9 16.9 29.5 46.5 59.3 68.9 75.2 73.1 62.8 49.1 31.6 20.1 

21.5 23.5 31.6 43.5 54.2 13.8 70.2 68.8 59.1 46.6 33.6 26.0 



"All temperatures are in degrees Fahrenheit. 

'"Bigelow, F. H.: The Daily Normal Temperature and Dally Normal 



54 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



For the state as a whole, the average temperature for July, the 
warmest month, is about 72°; for January, the coldest, about 13°. 
August is nearly as warm as July, and February nearly as cold as January; 
in fact many of the lowest temperatures have been recorded in February. 

(c) Meaji Daily Temperatures. The following tables give the daily 
normal temperatures at Huron and Rapid City:ii 

Table Xo. 5. — Daily Normal Temperatiu'e — Huron S. D. 
1882-1905 



Day 



Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 



1 


11 


10 


18 


37 


52 


63 


70 


72 


65 


53 


35 


21 


2 


11 


10 


IS 


37 


52 


63 


70 


72 


65 


52 


34 


20 


3 


10 


10 


19 


38 


53 


63 


70 


71 


6i 


52 


34 


20 


4 


lu 


10 


19 


39 


53 


64 


70 


71 


64 


51 


33 


20 


5 


10 


10 


20 


39 


53 


64 


71 


71 


64 


51 


33 


19 


6 


10 


11 


21 


40 


54 


64 


71 


71 


64 


50 


32 


19 


7 


10 


11 


21 


40 


54 


64 


71 


71 


63 


50 


32 


19 


S 


10 


11 


22 


41 


54 


65 


71 


71 


63 


49 


31 


18 


9 


10 


11 


23 


41 


55 


65 


7 1 


71 


62 


49 


30 


18 


10 


10 


11 


23 


42 


55 


65 


71 


71 


62 


48 


30 


18 


11 


it 


12 


24 


42 


56 


66 


71 


70 


62 


48 


30 


18 


12 


y 


12 


24 


43 


56 


66 


71 


70 


61 


47 


29 


17 


13 


9 


12 


25 


43 


56 


66 


71 


70 


• 61 


47 


28 


17 


14 


9 


12 


26 


44 


57 


66 


72 


70 


60 


46 


28 


17 


15 


9 


13 


26 


45 


57 


67 


72 


70 


60 


46 


27 


16 


16 


9 


13 


27 


46 


57 


67 


72 


70 


60 


45 


27 


16 


17 


9 


13 


27 


46 


58 


67 


72 


69 


59 


44 


26 


16 


18 


9 


14 


28 


46 


58 


67 


72 


69 


59 


44 


26 


15 


19 


9 


14 


28 


47 


58 


68 


72 


69 


58 


43 


25 


15 


20 


9 


14 


29 


47 


59 


68 


72 


68 


58 


43 


25 


14 


21 


9 


15 


30 


48 


59 


6S 


72 


68 


58 


42 


25 


14 


22 


11 


15 


30 


48 


60 


68 


72 


68 


57 


41 


24 


13 


23 . 


i) 


15 


31 


49 


60 


68 


72 


68 


56 


41 


24 


13 


24 


9 


16 


32 


49 


60 


69 


72 


68 


56 


40 


23 


12 


25 


9 


17 


33 


49 


60 


69 


72 


67 


56 


40 


23 


12 


26 


!l 


17 


34 


50 


61 


69 


72 


67 


55 


39 


22 


12 


27 


10 


17 


34 


50 


61 


69 


72 


67 


55 


38 


22 


12 


28 


10 


17 


35 


51 


61 


71 


72 


66 


54 


38 


22 


11 


29 


10 




36 


51 


62 


70 


72 


66 


54 


37 


21 


11 


30 


10 




36 


52 


62 


70 


72 


66 


53 


36 


21 


11 


31 


10 












72 


65 




36 






Mean 


9.5 1 


2.9 


26.7 


44.6 


57.3 


66.6 


71.5 


69.1 


59.6 


44.7 


27.4 


15.7 


Ann. 


Mean 


equals 42 


1. 



















PrecipUation of the U. S., Bull. R. U. S. Weather Bureau, pp. 41, 72, 1908. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 55 



Table 6. — Daily Normal Teini>erature — Rapid City 
1888-1905 

Day Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 



1 


23 


22 


26 


38 


49 


59 


68 


71 


64 


53 


39 


29 


2 


23 


22 


27 


38 


50 


60 


68 


71 


64 


53 


39 


29 


3 


22 


22 


27 


39 


50 


60 


69 


71 


64 


52 


38 


28 


4 


22 


22 


27 


39 


50 


60 


69 


71 


63 


52 


38 


28 


5 


22 


22 


28 


39 


51 


61 


69 


71 


63 


52 


37 


28 


6 


22 


22 


28 


40 


51 


61 


69 


71 


63 


51 


37 


28 


7 


22 


22 


28 


40 


51 


61 


69 


71 


62 


51 


37 


28 


8 


22 


22 


29 


41 


52 


62 


70 


71 


62 


50 


36 


27 


9 


22 


22 


29 


41 


52 


62 


70 


71 


62 


50 


36 


27 


10 


22 


22 


29 


41 


52 


62 


70 


70 


61 


49 


35 


27 


11 


22 


23 


30 


42 


53 


62 


70 


70 


61 


49 


35 


27 


12 


21 


23 


30 


42 


53 


63 


70 


70 


60 


49 


3 5 


27 


13 


21 


23 


30 


43 


53 


63 


70 


70 


60 


48 


34 


27 


14 


21 


23 


31 


48 


54 


63 


70 


70 


60 


48 


34 


27 


15 


21 


23 


31 


43 


54 


64 


70 


70 


59 


47 


34 


27 


16 


21 


24 


32 


44 


54 


64 


71 


69 


59 


47 


33 


26 


17 


21 


24 


32 


44 


55 


64 


71 


69 


59 


46 


33 


26 


18 


21 


24 


32 


45 


55 


65 


71 


69 


58 


46 


32 


26 


19 


21 


24 


33 


45 


55 


65 


71 


68 


58 


46 


32 


26 


20 


21 


24 


33 


45 


56 


65 


71 


68 


57 


45 


32 


25 


21 


21 


24 


38 


46 


56 


66 


71 


68 


57 


44 


31 


25 


22 


21 


25 


34 


46 


56 


66 


71 


68 


57 


44 


31 


25 


23 


21 


• 25 


34 


46 


56 


66 


71 


67 


56 


44 


31 


24 


24 


21 


25 


35 


47 


57 


66 


71 


67 


56 


43 


30 


24 


25 


21 


25 


35 


47 


57 


67 


71 


67 


56 


42 


30 


24 


26 


21 


26 


35 


48 


57 


67 


71 


66 


55 


42 


30 


24% 


27 


21 


26 


36 


48 


58 


67 


71 


66 


55 


42 


30 


24 


28 


22 


26 


36 


48 


58 


67 


71 


66 


54 


41 


30 


23 


29 


22 




36 


48 


58 


68 


71 


65 


54 


40 


29 


23 


30 


22 




87 


49 


59 


68 


71 


65 


54 


40 


29 


23 


31 


22 




37 




59 




71 


65 




40 




23 


ean 


21.5 


23.5 


31.6 


43.5 


54.2 


63.8 


70.2 


68.8 


59.1 


41.6 


33.6 


26.0 



Ann. Mean equals 45.2. 

From the above tables it may be observed that at Huron there are 
67 days (June 19-August 24 inclusive) with a normal temperature of 68" 
or above and at Rapid City 5 5 such days (June 2 9-August 2 2.) At 
Huron there are 165 days (5^/^ months) with the daily normal temper- 
atures 50' or above and at Rapid City 161 days (May 2-October 9 in- 
clusive.) Both stations have about sixteen weeks during which the daily 
normal temperature is below 3 2°. Rapid City has no day with a normal 
temperature below 20°, while Huron has 90 such days, and 33 days with 
normal temi)erature of 10° or lower. The temperatures at Rapid City are 
influenced by its situation at the eastern edge of the Black Hills where 
Chinook winds often are strongly developed. 

(d) Maxima and Minima Temperatui*es. Mean and extreme maxima 
and minima temperatures are of great significance to life — they, rather 
than avci-ago temperatures influence physiological activities and apparently 
limit the range of species. Maxima temperatures of over 100° have 
been recorded for most of the stations, outside the Black Hills, and 
minima temperatures below -40° have been recorded from most of the 
long established stations except those in the Black Hills region. The 
extremes for the state are 115° and -50° — a range of 165°. Several 
stations have recorded an annual range of more than 150°. 



56 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

Table 7. — Mean and Extreme Maxima Temperatures for Certain >ronthsi2 

May June July Aug. Sept. 

Aberdeen, Mean Max 90 99 99 98 94 

Absolute Max 96 104 107 111 102 

Huron, Mean Max 89 96 98 98 94 

Absolute Max 96 99 108 108 106 

Yankton, Mean Max 92 97 99 97 96 

Absolute Max 95 102 107 105 104 

Pierre, Mean Max 91 102 101 102 97 

Absolute Max 98 103 108 110 104 

Rapid Citv. Mean Max S.'S 96 97 97 92 

Absolute Max. 92 103 102 106 102 



Table 8. — Mean and Extreme Minima Temperatures for Certain Monthsi2 

Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. 

1 —16 —31 — 21 — 1 

— 25 — 28 — 34 — 46 — 31 

4 — 14 — 29 — 18 3 

—28 — 34 — 43 — 37 — 25 7 

9 — 4 — 20 — 14 6 

— 18 — 34 — 32 — 33 * — 18 — 3 

9 — 7 — 21 — 11 3 

—16 — 19 — 30 • — 40 — 15 5 

— 9 — 19 — 11 3 

— 9 — 24 — 30 — 34 — 17 — 2 



Aberdeen, Mean Min. 

Absolute Min 
Huron, Mean Min. . . 

Absolute Min 
Yankton, Mean Min. 

Absolute Min 
Pierre, Mean Min. . . 

Absolute Min 
:rtapid City, Mean Min. 

Absolute Min 



The high maxima in South Dakota stimulate growth in some plants, 
notably corn, as long as sufficient moisture is available. If that fails, 
many plants promptly wither. Winds accompanying high temperatures 
frequently are 'hot winds," although such winds are not necessarily con- 
fined to days having high maxima. Where daily maxima of 100° to 110° 
occur in summer, as in most of the state, they may be expected not in- 
frequently. These winds cause such rapid evaporation that plants which 
cannot absorb through their roots fast enough to equal the transpiration 
soon Avilt. Plants acclimated to more humid regions mav wither at such 
times, while there still is an abundance of soil moisture for plants dif- 
ferently constituted. 

The influence of the extremely low minima temperatures in South 
Dakota is less clearly injurious than in the case of the maxima. Freezing 
pulverizes the soil by rupturing the cohesion between many soil particles. 
In extremely cold weather, however, cracks more than three feet deep 
may be opened and aeration and deeper freezing permitted. Various 
plants are barred from the state because of the winter temperatures. 
The elimination is accomplished in two ways: (1) Drying winds continue 
to evaporate moisture from aerial parts when, because of the low ground 
temperatures, it cannot be replaced by the movement of sap. This factor 
is believed to be largely responsible for the absence of forests from many 
sections where the relative humidity in winter is low. (2) Freezing and 
thawing uproots some perennials. Red clover is not a success in most of 
South Dakota largely because it winter-kills in this manner. 

(c) The Daily Ranges in Temperatiu-e. The greatest daily ranges 
occur in the winter season when cyclonic storms are most strongly 
marked. Daily ranges of more than 50° normally occur in all months at 

"The mean maxima and the mean minima were computed from the month- 
ly minima for 1909-13: (Annual Summary for South Dakota, U. S. Weather 
Bureau, 1910-14, pp. 7, 8). The extreme maxima and the extreme minima 
are the highest and lowest temperatures recorded at the several stations dur- 
ing the period between the date of their establishment and 1909, (Bull. W., 
U. S. \\ eather Bureau, Summaries for Sections 33 and 34, 1912). 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 57 

several stations in the state. Ranges of more tha n6 6° occurred widely 
in January, 1913; but in January, 1914, the greatest local range was 56°. 
In March, 1913, several localities had daily ranges of more than 70°, 
while in 1912 the greatest local range in March was 55°. Daily ranges 
of less than 20° are rare. 

Table 9. — Local ranges — 1913i^ 



l-l 






>.o 


o 


f. 


,^ 


.QrH 










3 


rt 


P <M 


0) 




bO o 


be 


s 




. 


a 


•^ 


0) 


c« h 


a 


rt 


M) 


tH a, 


r- O 




>t^ 


2B 


0) 




03 '-• 
T3 M g 




0) 


a o 


s^ 2 

03 C 13 




> 


S cs 


OJ O rt 


< 


'O CO 


§S1^ 


71° 




50° 


26° 


57 




45 


25 


78 




60 


23 


54 




40 


24 


56 




42 


22 


51 




40 


24 


56 




45 


26 


56 




48 


27 


55 




48 


28 


58 




48 


28 


55 




48 


25 


55 




40 


24 



Jan 

Feb 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August 

Sept 

October 

November 

December 

Mean 58 46 2 6 — 

The mean daily range for the month does not clearly show the in- 
fluence of the passage of cyclonic storms; in fact the higher means occur 
in July-November, inclusive, when cyclonic storms are least prominent. 
These months are the warmer of the drier months of the year. 
Warmth and aridity both favor large ranges of temperature. The 
differences between these daily means (average 26°) and the maximum 
ranges (averaging 58° and 46°) shown in columns 3, 1 and 2, Table 9, 
are largely the result of the passage of such storms. 

(f) Diurnal Variability of Temperature. The maxima of consecutive 
days frequently differ by more than 25° and not rarely by 30°, and the 
minima by slightly larger figures. Such sharp changes from day to day 
result from the passage of cyclonic storms. 

The great daily range and the sharp marked d'urnal variability are 
of much geographic importance. Rapid changes of temperature are active 
factors in the disruption of rock. They also are withstood with difficulty 
especially by new-comers such as new-born animals. The normal range 
of more than 2 5° between night minima and day maxima generally means 
that the nights are cool enough for restful slee])ing. 

Unseasonable killing frosts are associated with the great daily range 
of temperature. 

(R) The Length of the Growing Season. The interval between the 



i^From Monthly reports for District 6, The Mis'-ouri Valley. U. S. Weather 
Bureau, 1913. The mean temperatures are approximate averages. 



58 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



last killing frost in the spring and the first in the autumn — the crop- 
growmg-season — averages nearly 130 days. For the noithern half of the 
state it is nearer 120 days and for the south-eastern quarter it is 140 
days. The northern border has the shortest season (115 days) and the i 
lower Missouri valley the longest (150 days.)i4 The frost-free period | 
around the base of the Black Hills, and on the slopes of some of the ' 
buttes where there is good air drainage is a week or two longer than 
the average for the state. 




Figures 20 and 21i.-. show the datp« nf i^c^f L-,-n- * . • 
and first killing frosts in autumn tI. f n , ^ ' '"^ *^"^*^ '^ «P"^S 

iliiliillifil 

?f9(!4-1913 ) «°"theastern counties three times in the past ten years 

(5) The Lem^h of Day 

i^Dav P o- Tvvi^^t T • ■ ' • ^- Weather Burtau Chart .^i i<in 

Chart?Y'aml 2r2 a'ifd 1. i;.n.' '" '^" ^- ^- ^""- ^'' U. ' S^'wLt'her" Bureau. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



59 




Fig^. 21. The agrerage earliest (- 



killing- fi-ost in the fall. Prom Bull. V., U. S. W. B. 



) and the earliest recorded ( ) 



has more than 14 hours of daylight; and from May 20 to July 20 more 
than 15 hours of sunlight, and from 3 to 4 hours of twilight. The length 
of the day during the growing season helps to compensate for the short 
frostless season, since other conditions being comparable, crops mature 
more rapidly in latitudes having long summer days than in lower 
latitudes. 

(6) Humidity 

The following tableis shows the mean relative humidity at certain 
morning and evening hours during the growing season. The humidity 
for 8 P. M. during the growing season is low, 3 9 per cent to 57 per cent, 
with an average of about 47 per cent.i^ in the afternoon it doubtless 
frequently is under 40 per cent, as the daily maxima usually are at least 
10 degrees higher than the 8 P. M. temperature. 

The average annual humidity of the northeastern part of the state 
is about 70 per cent; of the southwestern quarter of the state 60 per 
cent, and of the remainder about 6 5 per cent. 

Table 10. Mean Relative Humidity for Morning and Evening Hours 

During the Growing Season 

Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Year 

Huron 8 A. M. SO 78 82 82 84 82 82 

8 P. M. 52 51 57 52 52 51 61 

Yankton 8 A. M 79 80 80 80 84 84 80 

Pierre 8 A. M. 74 73 75 73 75 72 75 

8 P. M. 57 49 48 44 44 44 55 

Rapid City 8 A. M. 71 71 71 67 65 63 70 

8 P. M. 51 49 51 43 39 42 54 

Valentine Xeb. 6 A. M. 77 83 78 78 80 76 79 

6 P. M. 49 49 52 47 48 46 56 

•"Compiled from the "Summarie.s of Climatologioal Data for the United 
States," Sections 33, 34, and 35, Bull. AV.. U. S. Weather Bureau, 1912. 

"Illinois has an average normal humidity of 66 per cent for this hour. 



60 THE GEOGRAPHY OP SOUTH DAKOTA 

7. Evaporation 

Because of low relative humidity, high summer temperatures, and 
persistent wind, the rate of evaporation is high. Experiments have shown 
that in most parts of the state, evaporation from a water surface would 
amount to about 4 inches annually. In the northeast corner, however, 
it would be only 3 inches, and in the southwest corner over 50 inches. is 

The rate of evaporation is important, for the amount of water that 
plants need for their development varies directly with evaporation. The 
character of the native vegetation is in no small degree a response to the 
ratio between the supply of moisture and loss by evaporation. 

The rate of evaporation has much to do with what is known as 
sensible temperatures. The difference between the teinperature as felt 
by human beings (sensible temperature) and the temperature as shown 
by the thermometer often is great. Dry air at 100° may cause less dis- 
comfort than very moist air at 80°. Sunstroke is rare in South Dakota, 
partly because the low relative humidity promotes evaporation from the 
skin and keeps the body from becoming too warm. 

The very low temperatures recorded occasionally in winter are less 
, uncomfortable than are much higher temperatures in humid regions. 
,Most people do not feel so cold on a bright calm morning in Dakota when 
ithe thermometer registers — 40° (the lowest temperatures are usually 
associated with calm, clear weather) as they do on windy days in a 
damp region when the temperature is a few degrees above zero. 

(8) Cloudiness 

South Dakota is known as "the Sunshine State," not because it sur- 
passes in this respect other states, especially those in the southwest, but 
because of the contrast between South Dakota and the Eastern States 
arid northern European countries from whence most of the persons not 
born in South Dakota came. 

At Huronio during the winter months there is 62 per cent pf the 
total possible 100 per cent of sunshine; during the spring 64 per cent; 
during the summer 68 per cent, and during the fall '610 per cent. The 
year as a whole averages 63 per cent of the possible 100 per cent. The 
mean annual hours of sunshine for South Dakota approximates 2750 
hours. 

The per cent of clear days in the year for 19 08-13 averaged 46; of 
partly cloudy days 30, and of cloudy days 24. 20 

The impression is current in the state that cloudy days in South 
Dakota are less numerous than cloudy days in the more humid states. 
The Weather Bureau does not take observations in the density of the 
clouds. A day when most of the sky is clouded is recorded as cloudy. 
However the effect upon air and soil temperatures and upon life, especially 
upon the activity of animals and of plant growth, varies widely with the 
density of the cloudy canopy. South Dakota has few "leaden days" in 
a year. 

9. Precipitation 

(a) Annual. The average annual precipitation in South Dakota 
is approximately 20 inches; in the eastern half about 2 2.3; in the western 
half about 17 inches. (Fig. 22.) In the former 8 3 per cent, and in the 
latter 81 per cent, usually is received between March 1 and September 
30.21 (Fig. 23.) The amount of rainfall decreases toward the west and 



•^Salisbury, Barrows & Tower: Klements of Geography, Map of Mean 
Annual 10vai>oratlon on p. 87, (New York, 1912). 

"Climatology of the U. S.. Bull. Q., U. S. Weather Bureau, p 498. 

=«U. S. Weather Bureau: The Annual Summaries for South Dakota, 1908- 
1913. 

2i"The Summaries of Climatolog-ical Data by Sections," Sections 33 and 
34, Bull. W., U. S. Weather Bureau, 1912. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



61 




Fig-. 22. Map showing the average annual rainfall in inches. 



north. Because of the increased altitude, the central portions of the Black 
Hills receive more precipitation, especially snow, than do the surrounding 
plains. 

(b) The Sources of the Moisture. The Rocky Mountains force the 
precipitation of much of the moisture which the westerlies carry from 
the Pacific Ocean, so that little or none of it is dropped over South 
Dakota. Because winds from the north are warmed as they come into 
lower latitudes, they are drying winds. Moisture from the Atlantic 
Ocean is largely prevented from reaching South Dakota by the fact that 
the prevailing winds are westerly, while the occasional easterly winds do 
not come from the coast. Therefore the Gulf of Mexico is the great 
source of moisture for South Dakota, as for most of the Mississippi basin. 22 
The moisture-bearing winds are drawn to Dakota by the low pressures 
which accompany the passage of a cyclonic storm across the northern 
border of the United States. It is doubtful if moisture often is carried 
directly -from the Gulf to South Dakota. The winds associated with 
cyclones move in a spiral direction and air which was moving northward 
when it left the Gulf would form an east or even northeast wind before 
it reached the latitude of Dakota. The rapidity of the passage of normal 
lows is an even stronger reason for this doubt. It is not until the lows 
have crossed the Rockies that they strongly attract air from the Gulf. 
In 2 4 hours after crossing the mountains, the center of the low usually 
will have crossed the Dakotas. Since the distance from the Gulf to 
central South Dakota is some 1300 miles, a velocity of 55 miles an hour 
would have to be maintained for 24 hours in order to have the moisture 
carried directly to South Dakota. 23 The moisture en route to South 
Dakota may be precipitated and re-evaporated once, a few, or perhaps a 



-Stockman, Wm. B.: "Periodic Variation of Rainfall in the .\ri(l Re- 
g-ion," Bull. N.. IT. S. Weather Bureau, i>. 7. 11)05. 

-■■"Thouprh southeast -^vintls occasionally continue for two or tlr-'^e days, 
because of the spiral nature of air movement In cyclones It is altogether 
likely that even tjuch persistent winds bear no moisture directly from the 
•Gulf. 



62 THE GEOGRAPHY OP SOUTH DAKOTA 

score of times before South Dakota is reached. It is obvious that each 
precipitation greatly increases the likelihood that some share will not 
reach Dakota, but will return to the Gulf in a river, be appropriated by 
a plant or animal, enter the underground circulation or when evaporated, 
be carried away from South Dakota by contrary winds. This is proved 
by the gradual decrease in rainfall with increasing distance from the Gulf. 

Table 10a. Daily Normal Precipitation — Huron 

Day Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug-. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 



1 


.02 


.01 


.03 


.06 


.11 


.10 


.14 


.10 


.05 


.03 


.04 


.02 


2 


.02 


.01 


.03 


.06 


.11 


.10 


.13 


.11 


.06 


.03 


.04 


.02 


3 


.02 


.02 


.03 


.06 


.10 


.11 


.12 


.12 


.07 


.03 


.04 


.02 


4 


.02 


'.02 


.02 


.06 


.10 


.11 


.12 


.12 


.07 


.02 


.04 


.02 


5 


.02 


.02 


.02 


.06 


.10 


.11 


.11 


.13 


.06 


.02 


.04 


.02 


6 


.02 


.02 


.02 


.07 


.10 


.11 


.11 


.12 


.07 


.02 


.04 


.02 


7 


.02 


.02 


.02 


.08 


.09 


.11 


.10 


.11 


.08 


.02 


.05 


.02 


8 


.02 


.02 


.02 


.09 


.09 


.10 


.09 


.12 


.09 


.02 


.05 


.02 


9 


.02 


.02 


.02 


.09 


.08 


.11 


.09 


.12 


.09 


.02 


.05 


.02 


10 


.02 


.02 


.02 


.09 


.08 


.12 


.09 


.11 


.09 


.02 


.06 


.02 


11 


.02 


.02 


.02 


.09 


.08 


.12 


-.08 


.11 


.09 


.02 


.05 


.02 


12 


.02 


.02 


.02 


.09 


.09 


.13 


.08 


.10 


.08 


.01 


.05 


.02 


13 


.02 


.02 


.02 


.09 


.10 


.14 


.08 


.09 


.07 


.01 


.05 


.02 


14 


.02 


.01 


.02 


.10 


.09 


.14 


.08 


.10 


.07 


.01 


.05 


.02 


15 


.02 


.01 


.02 


.10 


.10 


.14 


.08 


.09 


.07 


.01 


.05 


.02 


16 


.02 


.01 


.03 


.10 


.11 


.14 


.09 


.10 


.06 


.01 


.06 


.02 


17 


.02 


.01 


.03 


.10 


.11 


.15 


.09 


.09 


.05 


.01 


.06 


.02 


18 


.02 


.01 


.03 


.09 


.11 


.15 


.09 


.09 


.04 


.01 


.05 


.02 


19 


.02 


.01 


.03 


.08 


.11 


.15 


.10 


.08 


.04 


.01 


.05 


.02 


20 


.02 


.01 


.03 


.09 


.11 


.14 


.08 


.08 


.04 


.01 


.04 


.02 


21 


.01 


.01 


.03 


.09 


.10 


.13 


.09 


.07 


.03 


.02 


.04 


.02 


22 


.01 


.01 


.03 


.09 


.09 


.13 


.09 


.07 


.03 


.02 


.05 


.02 


23 


.01 


.01 


.04 


.09 


.09 


.13 


.09 


.06 


.03 


.02 


.04 


.02 


14 


.01 


.01 


.04 


.09 


.10 


.13 


.09 


.05 


.03 


.02 


.04 


.02 


25 


.01 


.02 


.04 


.10 


.09 


.13 


.08 


.04 


.04 


.02 


.04 


.02 


26 


.01 


.02 


.05 


.10 


.08 


.13 


.08 


.04 


.04 


.02 


.04 


.02 


27 


.01 


.02 


.05 


.10 


.08 


.13 


.09 


.05 


.04 


.03 


.03 


.02 


28 


.01 


.03 


.05 


.11 


.08 


.13 


.09 


.05 


.04 


.03 


.03 


.02 


29 


.01 




.06 


.12 


.08 


.13 


.09 


.04 


.04 


.03 


.03 


.02 


30 


.01 




.06 


.12 


.08 


.13 


.09 


.04 


.04 


.03 


.03 


.02 


31 


.01 


- 


.06 




.09 


.13 


.10 


.04 






.03 


..02 



.99 2.65 2.92 3.78 2.94 2.64 1.69 1.34 .58 .62 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



63 



Table 11 


Di 


lily X 


oi'iiial 


l*i-ecipitiition — 


-Rapid 


City, 


1888-1906 




Day 


Jan. 


Feb. 


Mar. 


Apr. 


May 


.Junc 


Juli 


Aug. 


Sept. 


Oct. 


Nov. 


Dec. 


1 


.01 


.02 


.02 


.05 


.10 


.13 


.10 


.09 


.04 


.03 


.02 


.02 


2 


.01 


.02 


.02 


.05 


.10 


.13 


.10 


.09 


.04 


.03 


.02 


.02 


3 


.01 


.02 


.02 


.05 


.10 


.13 


.09 


.09 


.05 


.03 


.02 


.02 


4 


.01 


.02 


.02 


.05 


.10 


.14 


.09 


.09 


.05 


.03 


.02 


.02 


5 


.01 


.02 


.02 


.05. 


.10 


.14 


.09 


.09 


.05 


.03 


.02 


.02 


6 


.01 


.02 


.02 


.05 


.10 


.13 


.08 


.09 


.05 


.03 


.02 


.02 


7 


.02 


.02 


.02 


.06 


.09 


.13 


.08 


.09 


.06 


.04 


.02 


.02 


8 


.02 


.02 


.02 


.06 


.09 


.12 


.08 


.09 


.06 


.04 


.02 


.02 


9 


.02 


.02 


.02 


.07 


.08 


.11' 


.08 


.09 


.06 


.05 


.02 


.02 


10 


.02 


.02 


.02 


.07 


.Oii 


.12 


.08 


.09 


.06 


.05 


.02 


.02 


11 


.02 


.02 


.02 


.07 


.08 


.12 


.08 


.08 


.06 


.05 


.02 


.02 


12 


.02 


.02 


.02 


.08 


.08 


.12 


.08 


.08 


.06 


.05 


.01 


.02 


13 


.02 


.01 


.03 


.09 


.08 


.12 


.08 


.07 


.05 


.05 


.01 


.02 


14 


.01 


.01 


.03 


.09 


.08 


.12 


.08 


.07 


.05 


.05 


.01 


.02 


15 


.01 


.01 


.U3 


.09 


.08 


.12 


.08 


.07 


.05 


.05 


.01 


.02 


16 


.01 


.01 


.03 


.09 


.09 


.13 


.08 


.07 


.04 


.05 


.01 


.01 


17 


.01 


.01 


.03 


.09 


.10 


.13 


.08 


.07 


.04 


.05 


.01 


.02 


18 


.01 


.01 


.03 


.09 


.10 


.13 


.08 


.07 


.03 


.05 


.01 


.01 


19 


.01 


.01 


.03 


.09 


.10 


.13 


.08 


.07 


.03 


.04 


.01 


.01 


20 


.01 


.01 


.03 


.09 


.10 


.12 


.08 


.07 


.03 


.03 


.01 


.01 


21 


.01 


.01 


.04 


.09 


.10 


.11 


.08 


.06 


.03 


.03 


.01 


.01 


22 


.01 


.01 


.04 


.09 


.10 


.11 


.08 


.06 


.03 


.03 


.01 


.01 


23 


.01 


.02 


.04 


.08 


.09 


.11 


.08 


.05 


.03 


.03 


.01 


.01 


24 


.01 


.02 


.05 


-OS 


.09 


.11 


.08 


.04 


.03 


.03 


.01 


.01 


25 


.01 


.02 


.05 


.08 


.09 


.11 


.08 




.03 


.03 


.01 


.01 


26 


.02 


.02 


.05 


.08 


.09 


.11 


.08 




.03 


.02 


.02 


.01 


27 


.02 


.02 


.06 


.08 


.09 


.10 


.08 




.03 


.02 


.02 


.01 


28 


.02 


.02 


.06 


.09 


.10 


.10 


.08 




.03 


.02 


.02 


.01 


29 


.02 




.06 


.10 


.10 


.10 


.08 




.03 


.02 


.02 


.01 


30 


.02 




.06 


.10 


.11 


.10 


.08 




.03 


.02 


.02 


.01 


31 


.02 


ill 


.06 




.12 


... 


.08 


!64 








.01 



Mean 



.44 



,46 1.05 2.30 2.91 3.59 2.55 2.11 1.26- 1.10 



.46 



,46 



ASHCROFT 
JFMAMJ JASONO 



JJ 



Ilk 



RAPID CITY 



■■lllllll... 



OELRICHS 



Jl 



FAULKTON 
J FMAMJ JASOND 



ul 




PIERRE 



IL 



Jill 



ROSEBUD 




llllllll 



SIS5ET0N 

JFMAMJ J ASONO 



li 



lilU 



il 



WATERTOWN 



Ul 



ll 



Sioux falls 



11 



Fig. 23. Average Monthly precipitation at nine well distributed stations. 



64 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



(c) Monthly Precipitation. The monthly distribution of precipitation 
is favorable to * agriculture. The months of heaviest rain are May, 
June and July. The least precipitation is received during January and 
February (Fig. 2 3.) The following table-i gives the mean monthly pre- 
cipation at Huron, Pierre and Rapid City, representing the eastern 
central and western sections of the state. 





? S t? 15 


». 




1 


1 


Wk 




' 


1 


New York 

Penn syLvania 

Ohio 




! 














Michigan 

Illinois 




1 






Wiscojvsin,- 




1 1 










Nebraska 




1 



Fig-. 24. The average rainfall of the eastern half of South Dakota in the five 
growing- months as compared with other states. 



Huron 

1881-06 
Pierre 

1891-06 .-16 
Rapid Citv 

1888-06 .-14 



Table 12. The Normal Monthly Precipitation 

Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May .June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Year 

.51 .44 .99 2.G5 2.92 3.7S 2.94 2.64 1.69 1.34 .58 .62 21.1 

.44 1.33 1.93 2.13 3.08 2.35 2.01 1.11 .81 .43 .50 16.6 

.46 1.05 2.30 2. ill 3.59 2.55 2.11 1.26 1.10 J6 .46 18.7 



Avfraffe ■ iSJJ 




^'^"■l892 Z^'l^ir^^^^ ''"""''^ rainfall at Yankton. Spearfish and Pierre, \rom 



rmal 



sever^ "dro'uT^^\n"d"' grS^pIr" VvZ^es^'^llf "^rJatlv'^'heln^'d \l''' °'.t.^"^ 
Vl^nktXlST^)."""'^'- '^""^'^^ '■ " 5u'^lin"e"s^f^^llfsSry^^S^'DaL"ota,^!,"^f3! 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 65 

(d) Number of Rainy Days. In eastern South Dakota there are 
about 71 rainy days-^ a year at each weather bureau station. At Pierre 
and Rapid City there are about 9 2 such days. The average of all the 
stations in western South Dakota, however, gives nearly the same figures 
as in eastern South Dakota,— 73 days a year. 

(e) Variability in the Amount of Precipitation. The annual rain- 
fall varies very greatly in South Dakota as illustrated by Fig. 25 which 
shows the fluctuation in total amount at Yankton and Pierre during two 
decades. 26 

The average for the entire state in somei years has been less than 
two-thirds the normal amount, as in 1894 and 1910. At some stations it 
has been less than half the normal amount for that locality, as at Sisseton 
in 1888, Pierre, Kimball and Yankton in 1894, Ipswich in 1898, Huron 
in 1910, and Orman in 1911. At a few stations the rainfall has been 
in one year fifty per cent, larger than normal (Vermilion 1909), while 
amounts 30% in excess of normal are frequent and widespread. 

The variation from year to year as regards seasonal distribution is 
much greater than the fluctuation in the annual precipitation, and has 
much more geographic significance. The month of June, for example, at 
stations where the normal precipitation is more than 3..") inches, may 
receive less than ..5 inches in some years, as at Hermosa in 1910, High- 
more in 1911 (.09 in. in 1911, 3. .55 in. normal). Academy in 1912, (.32 
in. 1912, 3.88 in. normal), Hopewell, Stanley Co. in 1913 (.22 in. in 
1913 4.44 in. normal). Monthly deficiencies of but slightly less than 3 
inches are widespread and frequent for the months of the growing season. 
The results are often disastrous. The almost complete failure of crops 
in Stanley county in 1912 is an example. Precipitation from 2-4 inches 
in excess if the normal for a given month also is common during the 
growing season. 

The variation in rainfall during the growing season influences the 
crop yields very greatly. Not infrequently twice the normal precipitation 
is received during one month when the next may receive less than half 
the normal. Consequently fair or good yields of such crops as are in the 
stage to benefit by the abundant rainfall of the wet month may be 
obtained, while crops which are in their critical stage of growth during 
the dry month may yield little. Thus in 189 5 the rye crop was very poor 
but the wheat crop was good. In 1910, though the potato and hay 
yields were low, wheat yielded faily well in many sections since rainfall 
at opportune times for wheat in many parts of the wheat growing area in 
the state. In 1911 though the yields of most crops were low, that of 
corn was normal. The variation in the precipitation during the growing 
season and its effects on agricultural prosperity is one of the strongest 
possible arguments for diversified farming. 

Table 13. Rainfall Per Month (Average of Huron, Yankton, Pien-e and 

Rapid aty)2r 

Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. 

1909 .85 4.16 3.84 2.54 2.36 2.24 

1910 .71 1.67 1.70 3.04 1.84 2.21 

1911 1.90 1.66 1.38 2.08 2.77 1.99 

1912 2.34 2.74 1.05 4.60 2.84 1.76 

1913 2.11 4.10 2.16 3.20 2.10 1.86 



==.\ rainy day i.s, according to the definition of the U. S. AVeather Bureau, 
one having- .01 or more inches of precipitation. 

-■"The data from which Fig's. 2.'j were constructed were obtained from 
the "Summaries of Climatological Data of the U. S. by Sections." 33 and 34, 
and "Annual Summaries" for 1909, 1910. 1911. U. S. Weather Bureau Fig^ 
— is copied from Bull. W.. U. S. Weather Bureau. 

27Data from Ann. Summaries for 1909-13, U. S. Weather Bureau, p. 9. 

SIg.— 5. 



66 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



The average yields of the chief crops for the state as a whole fluctuate 
widely from year to year. While wheat yielded but 6.6 bu. per acre in 
1894, it yielded 12 bu. in 1895, 8 bu. in 1897, 19 bu. in 1900, 12.8 bu. 
in 1910, 4 bu. in 1911, and 14.2 bu. in 1912. Similarly the yield of oats 
has ranged from 7.4 to 39 bu. per acre; rye from 4.5 to 20.2 bu. per acre; 
corn 4.2 to 3?,. 5, potatoes 23 to 105, and hay from .55 to 1.4 6 tons per 
acre. Fluctuations of far greater amounts have taken place within small 
areas. Nearly complete failures in one section may be counter-balanced in 
such averages by excellent yields in other localities. 

Table 14. Ciop Yields in Aarious Years in Bushels Pei- Acre 
Average for South Dakota^s 

Aver. 
1894 1910 1911 1912 1880-1909 

Whe^t 6.16^ 12.8 4.0 14.2 11.4 

Oats 7.6 2.3 7.4 33.8 27.0 

Corn 4.2 25.0 22.0 30.6 22.0 

Potatoes' 23.0 44.0 72.0 105.0 79.0 

Hay (tons) 0.94 0.8 0.55 1.46 1.3 

(f) Snowfall. The average annual snowfall for the state is about 
24 inches, but the variations from year to year and from place to place 
are very great. For example, 24 7.2 inches have been recorded in one 
winter (1910) at Greenmount, Lawrence County, in the Black Hills at an 
elevation of 6 430 feet and in 1880-81 more than 100 inches were recorded 
at many points in the eastern half of the state. In some other winters 
there has been only a slight snowfall in most sections. The snow usually 
does not remain long on the ground. Sleighing is infrequent. Grazing 
may be continued throughout all but the exceptional winters. When such 
winters have come (as in 1886-87, 1887-8, 1897-8,) there has been great 
loss of livestock. The loss in 1886-87 is said to have -been more than 
50% of the cattle on the range in the Black Hills region. 20 Of recent 
years, however, stockmen have not relied entirely upon grazing and the 
losses have been far less. 

(g) Hail. There is an average of about 30 days per year with 
thunderstorms. -0 The summer rains generally are of the thunderstorm 
or conventional type, often giving heavy downpours in a few hours, but 
rarely more than two inches fall within 24 hours. Hail sometimes 
accompanies the thunderstorms in sufficient quantities to be destructive, 
but the losses due to it in South Dakota are far less than in some of the 
states to the south. 

10. Variability of the Weather 

The weather in South Dakota is variable, as is the weather of most 
sections of northern United States. The variability is produced chiefly 
by the procession of those cyclonic storms — high pressure and low pressure 
areas — which cross the continent in the general latitude of South Dakota. 
The centers of many pass over or but a short distance to the north or 
south of the state. The lows usually are accompanied by cloudiness and 
precipitation; the highs by lower temperatures and clearer skies. A 
given cyclone or anti-cyclone usually passes in three days, the center 
crossing the state in one day. A rapid succession of changes in the 
weather therefore is typical for all parts of the state. The fluctuations 
in temperature from day to day frequently are more than 30°. The 
effects of such variation has been commented upon. 

!»The Year Book of the Department of Agriculture. 1S94-1912. 
^Baldwin, G. P.: The Black Hills, p. 59, CChicago, 1904). 
"Bull. Q., U. S. Weather Bureau, plate 28. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 67 



1 1 . Siii)pose<l Changes of Climate 

Many old settlers claim or claimed before 1910 that the climate is 
changing."! Droughts undoubtedly are less disastrous now than formerly, 
but the cause is probably to bei found in other reasons than changes of 
climate There is a better adjustment of crops to the area: — crops which 
are better able to withstand the conditions, and varieties which are 
better acclimated have replaced the ill adapted crops and varieties in- 
troduced by the early settlers. (2) The population is not so near the 
margin of want as formerly. With diversified farming and stock raising, 
a reserve supply of food and stock, and probably a bank account, a 
single dry year, or even two or three in succession, cannot cause as much 
suffering as similar droughts would have caused in pioneer days. The 
climatic influence of the artesian waters brought to the surface is doubt- 
less negligible, and is more than offset by the drainage of many lakebeds. 

The U. S. Weather Bureau and others have made extended studies 
of the changes in climate reputed to follow settlement and have been 
unsuccessful in establishing that there have been any such changes. 
Professor Henry of the U. S. Weather Bureau has recently summarized 
and discussed this general topic in an illuminating manner. ■'•2 His con- 
clusions are: 

"It is apparent on inspection that the annual precipitation progresses 
from year to year in an exceedingly irregular manner and without, so far 
as discoverable, any approach to uniformity in time or space. One year 
of heavy rain may be succeeded by a second, third or even fourth year 
of abundant precipitation, and again a single year of heavy rain may be 
followed immediately by a year of light rain." 

"The probability that the rainfall will be normal is very small. The 
distribution mostly to be expected is that which approaches closely to or 
falls slightly below the normal."-' 

=iFinlev, Lieut .1. r. : Certain Climatic Features of the Two Dakotas, 
lip. 20-i'.T, " (Washington, 1893); Andreas, A. T.: Historical Atlas of Dakota, 
p. 87. (Chlcag-o, 1884). 

==Henrv. Alfred J.: Secular Variation of Precipitation in the Uiiiteo 
States, Bull. Am. Geoff. Soc. XLVT, Mar., 1914, pp. 192-201. 

33Loc. cit.. pp. 198. 201. 



CHAPTER SIX 

THK BIO-CJEOGRAPHV 

Introduction, i). 68; The Bio-Geographic Districts, p. 77; The Ecol- 
ogical Formations, p. 79; Steppe, p. 80; Prairie, p. 95; Meadow, p. 97; 
Woodland, p. 98; and Aquatic, p. 103. 

" I. INTRODUCTION 

Although the native flora and fauna represent but a small portion of 
the life which in any area ultimately may be put to the use of civilized 
man, and may include few species of conspicuous economic significance, 
their study is well worth while for several reasons. (1) It makes 
practicable a comparison even of widely separated areas in respect to 
climate, ground-water and soil. (2) It greatly extends our knowledge 
of geographic conditions, making possible, for example, an intelligent 
selection of useful varieties of plants and animals which may be introduced 
with probable success. (3) The flora in many cases is an indication of 
the agricultural possibilities of an area. (4) Vegetation and animals 
affect run-off, erosion, and soil. (5) The native biota has vastly influenced 
human activities, and its study therefore is a prerequisite to a full under- 
standing of the human geography of any region. These points will be 
taken up after a brief discussion of some requirements of species and 
some differences between the original and possible future biotas. 

Each species has many and in most cases complex requirements such 
as proper amounts of (1) moisture, including water vapor as well as 
liquid water, (2) heat, including requisite periods when the temperatures 
are above definite minima, for example 32°. (3) light, including sun- 
shine, (4) food, inorganic as well as organic, (5) appropriate anchorage 
for sessil forms, (6) proper sites in which to rear their young, (7) not 
too powerful rivals or enemies, (8) effective " means of dissemination. 
Moreover, various plants are fertilized by but few and some of them liy 
highly specialized insects. The range of such plants cannot extend much 
beyond that of such insects unless they are propagated vegetatively. 

An environment may be favorable in almost all respects to various 
species which are not found there, but if only one of the numerous re- 
quirements is unfulfilled, that species is barred. In a region where the 
climate is as variable as in South Dakota, an area perhaps may be favor- 
able for a given species during most years, but the exceptional drouth 
or the occasional unseasonable frost may keep the species out. Species 
which possess means of prompt re-introduction may soon be re-established 
after local extermination. The great significance of means of dispersal is 
indicated by the fact that the species which are most widely distributed 
over the globe are those which are distributed through the air by the 
winds, as willows, birches, poplars, bacteria, diatoms and fungi, or those 
that are able to fly, as most insects, birds, and bats, while the next most 
widespread are those disseminated through the agency of civilized man. 
Deficiency in means of dispersal tends to retard greatly the spread and 
to restrict the ranges of many interdependent groups, as examples of 
which are tree-squirrels and nut-bearing trees, fruit-bearing birds and 
bats and certain trees and shrubs. Herbs whose seeds are armed with 
hooks depend largely upon wide-ranging mammals for their spread. Num- 
erous animals are carried by others while in egg, larval, or adult stages. 
Examples are certain molluscs which attach themselves to the gills of fish, 
and all parasites, many of which cause sickness and produce "diseases." 

.There are numerous illustrations of the success of species which 
have crossed the barrier of sea, mountain or other unfavorable tract, 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 69 

and have become established in South Dakota. The English sparrow, 
(Passer domesticus) Norwegian rat, (Epimystr rattus) and house mouse 
(Mils 111. musculus) among the vertebrates, the house fly (Musculae) tent 
caterpillar and potato beetle ( Lepiiitotarsa deceiiiliiicata ) among the 
insects, the Russian thistle, (Salola) sweet-clover (Melelotus) and pigweed 
(('heii|nuliuni album) among the plants are a tew examples. 

Many additional species may prosper if conditions are improved but 
slightly in one or more particulars. Thus slight improvement in (1) 
planting, (2) cultivation, (3) supplying water at critical times and places, 
might enable somo species not now represented to establish themselves. 
Wells have increased in many respects the utility of areas naturally 
deficient in drinking water. The marvelous results of irrigation are well 
known. (4) the virtual lengthening of the season by affording protection 
in the early stages of growth by means of hot-beds for various vegetables. 
(5) protection from enemies. The animals of prey have been nearly 
exterminated over large portions of the state. (6) The elimination of 
competitors. The bison, antelope, and mustangs were rivals of cattle, 
sheep and horses, and were of necessity nearly exterminated before the 
latter became common. Without the breaking up of the sod and the 
consequent destruction of the nat've vegetation of the area affected, the 
raising of nearly all crops would be impossible in South Dakota. 

For these reasons and perhaps others, the flora and fauna which will 
occupy this area when it is finally put to its maximum use by highly civi- 
lized man will be far more abundant, profitable, and diverse than that 
which originally prevailed, and it probably will be richer in species, 
although many native species will be exterminated over large areas. This 
enrichment will take place along av least the following lines. (1) Sim- 
ilar regions the world over will yield species which will be introduced 
and put to the use of man. (2) Some of the plants now useless doubt- 
less will become useful, with the advance of civilization. Two decades 
ago, for example, it was not anticipated that the guayule shrub would 
give to desert lands where it grows a value of as much as $20 per acre 
which it now does because it became profitable to extract the rubber 
which it was found to contain. (3) The improvement of native stocks 
by hvbridization and selection has accomplished much and has great 
possibilities. (4) The acclimation of certain forms not at first success- 
fully raised is practicable. i (5) A thorough adiustment of the biota to 
the geographic conditions, especially climate and soil, would enormously 
increase the productivity of the area. (6) Improved methods of trans- 
portation and preservation and increased local markets may make it 
profitable to put all portions of the area to more effective use. (7) Drain- 
age or irrigation of areas susceptible thereto very greatly increases their 
productivity. 

Because large areas in South Dakota were primitively, or still are 
verv uninviting, does not prove that they will not sunport a large popu- 
lation in the future. The area irrigated bv the Bellefourche proiect is 
located mainly on gumbo, and but a short time ago was exceedingly 
unattractive. Xow it is worth more than $100 per acre. Areas, miles 
in extent, which in the range days could not permanently sunport a 
single steer because of the occasional lack of drinking water and winter 
food, can new, with the help of wells, a small amount of hay, nnd shelter, 
support scores per square mile. Great confidence is expressed by those 
best entitled to an opinion, including Prof. X. E. Hansen of the U. S. 
Ex])eriment Station at Brookings, that within a decade or two much of 
the sod of millions of acres of South Dakota will be sprinkled with 
luxuriant plants of certain Siberian and hybrid strains of alfalfa, and 

iFor an excellent discu.s.sion of these four methods see Heridrick U. r._: 
"Multiplirity of ('ro).s as ;« M'-ans of Increasing: the Future Pood .Supply. 
Sci.ncf, Oct. 30, 1914, i>p. 611-620. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



thus the productivity of certain lands increased from nearly nil to exceed 
that of the present best grazing lands of the state. 

Although the original biota thus differs widely from the biota likely 
to prevail under conditions of high civilization and dense population, its 
study is distinctly valuable as a preliminary step in the determination of 
the geographic conditions of the area 

Bio-geography extends our knowledge of geographic conditions in 
various ways: Some of them are listed below: 

1. Climatic data of nearly all sorts may be greatly supplemented. 

2. The general geographic conditions are indicated by the ecological 
aspects. 

3. Slight variations in these general conditions are marked by 
corresponding changes in vegetation and animals. 

4. Many differences in the various climatic factors are revealed. 

5. Differences in soils are indicated in many places. 

6. The nature of the subsoil and the depth of the soil is revealed 
at many points. 

7. The depth to the water table is shown in many places. 

8. Many slight differences of slope or elevation are made con- 
spicuous. 

9. The likelihood that an area will be flooded, or, in case of 
areas normally submerged, will be exposed, is shown in many places. 

10. The value of certain areas for the production of certain crops 
is suggested. 

11. The rate of erosion of slopes is suggested. 

12. The directions or points of the compass are indicated roughly 
by various plants and animals. 

13. The physiographic or even geologic history may be illuminated. 
These points demand some further discussion. 

1. Climatic data of nearly all sorts are greatly supplemented: — 
In mid-latitudes, especially in continental- interiors, there may be 

great climatic variation from year to year and decade to decade. Records 
of a moderately satisfactory sort cover but a short period for most of the 
Weather Bureau stations in South Dakota. At but four stations do they 
cover twenty-five years, and at but thirty-four, most of which are in the 
eastern third of the state, more than fifteen years. Therefore the local 
climatic records permit only an imperfect knowledge of the climate of the 
state. By using the dominant species as an index, comparison may be 
made with corresponding areas, such as parts of Nebraska and Kansas 
which have records that cover a much greater inteTval. 

The dominant native plants and animals of any region have been 
selected not by the climate of a brief period, a decade or even a century, 
but by that of centuries The study of the native biota therefore makes 
possible in many places a very great extension of knowledge concerning 
the climate 

2. The general geographic conditions are indicated in most places 
by the ecological aspects of the biota and therefore furnish indices for 
comparison of areas: — Plants closely similar in appearance (ecological 
aspect) have evolved in various plant families under the influence of 
similar conditions. Certain spurges in the drier parts of South Africa 
very closely resemble American cacti. Arborescent representatives of 
most families are found in the tropical rain forests; even the grasses 
and horsetails are represented there by forms which might be classed as 
arborescent. The plants of grasslands are chiefly herbaceous. Plants 
resembling the sage are found in all stepper, and the pincushion. p'Uow 
and carpet typee of growth are developed at high elevations or in high 
latitudes by members of nearly all plant families which are represented 
here. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OP SOUTH DAKOTA 71 



If two environments, for exami)le southern Siberia and western South 
Dakota, present the same ecological aspects and types, and perhaps many 
representatives of identical genera and species, the chances are that a 
species from one environment will thrive in the other, if introduced. 
Various strains of Siberian alfalfa have been introduced into South 
Dakota, and some give great promise. The introduction of forms from 
regions quite unrelated ecologically is on the other hand less likelv to 
be successful. The resulting loss may be much greater than the direct 
loss because of the discouragement to the introduction of new varieties 
which one failure usually produces. 

(3 and 4.) Minor climatic differences are shown in many places by 
minor differences in the biota: — 

The effects of decreased evaporation or increased precipitation are 
shown by differences in the ecology of different areas occupied by a 
general ecological type, as between the southern and northern parts of a 
^prairie, steppe or woodland. Plants such as the twinflower or bunch 
berry, which are restricted to the moister or more mesophytic sides of 
canyons at low elevations in the southern part of South Dakota are much 
more widespread in the northern part, and at higher elevations in the 
Black Hills. 

The persistence and velocity of the wind at various exposed points 
is shown by the stunted (krumholtz) character of the woody growth, and 
the direction from which the prevailing winds blow is shown in many 
cases by the lopsided shape of trees. 

As an illustration of the indication of minor temperature differences 
the following case showing a conspicuous influence of a season somewhat 
longer than the average and free from killing frosts may be cited. In 
Harding County, in the northwestern corner of the state, wild plum 
thickets are numerous and extensive on portions of the slopes of the 
forested buttes, while they are rare elsewhere in that part of the state. 
The local Weather Bureau stations, which are all in the valleys, record a 
frostless season usually too short for even wild plums. Their abundance 
on the sides of the buttes indicates clearly a longer frostless season at 
that elevation. An observing horticulturist has located in this belt an 
apple orchard which has yielded well for several years. Similar belts are 
indicated by the native vegetation in the Black Hills and elsewhere. 

5. Differences in soils are indicated by the material brought up by 
burrowing animals and in many places by different types of vegetation: — 

Some species of plants grow on a great variety of soils; many others 
thrive best on certain t>pes, while still others are highly characteristic 
of a single type. Soil conditions therefore may be recognized commonly 
by the predominance of different species of plants, and often may be 
differentiated when seen even from a distance by the shades of color that 
dominant species give to such areas. A better illustration of this scarcely 
can be found than at the northeastern corner of the Black Hills where, 
from Bear Butte, more than a dozen types of soils, weathered from 
numerous rock formations which outcrop thereabouts, are distinguishable 
by the aid of their vegetal covering. On the heavy clay, chenopods and 
wheat grass give a dark green or brown color. The sandy soil is clothed 
with tall, stiff, usually straw-colored sand grass, or the reddish-yellow 
bunch grass. Sandy-loam areas have the greater light-colored cover 
of needle grass which waves conspicuously in the breeze. The clay-loam 
and silt have a velvet-like buffalo-grama grass carpet. Gravelly areas 
are blotched with the low shrubs of the lead plant where the matrix is 
loam; where it is silt, the color is lightened with some species of sage, 
a genus dominant on many areas of silty soil. In the foothills where 
sandstones outcrop, there are scattered pines; where shale outcrops in 
that locality, there are no trees. The contact between the limestone and 



72 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



the redbeds is made conspicuous at a distance of many miles, because 
pines occupy tlie limestone to its very margin in most places. 

6. The nature of the subsoil and the depth of the mantle rock are 
revealed at many points: — 

Materials brought up by burrowing animals are perhaps commonly 
sufficient indications of the nature of the subsoil. 

The thickness of the soil and of the mantle rock is shown clearly in 
the distribution or character of various species of plants and burrowing 
animals in areas whore firm rock is near the surface, as in many parts 
of the Black Hills and the quartzite and granite areas in the south- 
eastern and northeastern parts of the state. 

7. The depth to the water-table is shown in places where this depth 
is not great. The establishment at such points, of the general water- 




Fis. 26. Part of one of the lakes of the East Coteau or Lake Region. A lake 
near \\ ebster having more trees than the average. — Courtesy of the C. M. 
& St. P. R. R. Co. 



level makes possible an approximation of the dopth to permanent water 
in wid« areas where the depth is too great to be reached by most local 
vegetation. 

The accessibility of underground water is strikinslv shown bv the 
distribution of certain kinds of trees. (Pig. 26, 27, 28), the groves of 
willow, ash, elm, and several ether kinds occupying portions of the river 
bottoms, the little thickets or single trees near hillside springs, all indi- 
cate clearly available ground water. 

Various sedges and rushes grow only in areas where seepage takes 
place, at least i)art of the time. Lignite, which is relatively impervious, 
causes seopa.ge in many places where it outcrops on slopes. Vegetation 
in such zones is fairly conspicuous, and has been used often in locating 
'coal diggings." 

It appears that prairie-dog towns are located only where the water 
table is within reach of these able burrowers. The location of more 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



73 




Fig-. 27. A view in the Red Valley which surrounds the Black Hills. 



Fig-. 28. An alfalfa field in the Bello Fourche Valley, near Newell, 
are along the river. 



The trees 



74 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



than 100 towns examined in Harding, Perkins, Fall River, Stanley, and 
other counties seems to bear out this statement. - 

8. Slight differences of slope or elevation are made conspicuous by 
differences in the vegetal covering in many places: — 

In swampy areas very slight differences in elevation commonly are 
accentuated by distinct differences in vegetation, and in many places the 
depth of water in lakes and marshes is suggested clearly in the distri- 
bution of reeds, sedges, water buttercups, pond lilies and other plants. 
On slight slopes the depressions and direction of slope are in many places 
conspicuously indicated by differences in the vegetation. 

9. The likelihood that an area will be flooded is shown in many 
places: — • 

Certain species notably of grasses and terrestrial anjmals are unable 
to resist even occasional floods, and are lacking in areas where they 
occur, while certain plants, such as cottonwood and some willows, become 
established at the margin of flooded areas and, dead or alive, may long 
indicate the flood. The biota of areas normally submerged but occasionally 
exposed differs somewhat strikingly in many places from the inhabiting 
areas permanently submerged. Bodies of water which never freeze to the 
bottom are inhabited by a richer biota than are those that freeze occas- 
ionally. 

10. The value of certain areas for crops is suggested in many 
places: — 

"Land which bears a pure short-grass cover was found to be sup- 
plied with water in the surface foot or two of soil only, and usually 
even to that depth for but a brief period during spring and early summer. 
Land with a uniform cover of tall grasses was found to be supplied with 
water to a much greater depth and to offer conditions favorable for plant 
growth during a much longer season. As a connecting link between these 
two conditions a short grass cover which supports a scattered growth of 
taller plants was found to indicate intermediate conditions as regards 
water supply. 

"The area of greatest agricultural value one year with another are 
those marked by the presence of the wire-grass vegetation. Of almost 
equal value are the areas characterized by those phases of the grama- 
buffalo-grass vegetation which are distinguished by the presence of a 
considerable quantity of Psoralea or of wire-grass. Bunch grass land is 
best for crops during especially dry years, but is relatively the least 
productive during favorable years. Typical short-grass land (grama- 
buffalo-grass association) produces more than any other type during 
wet years, but is first to fail in time of drought. s 

were in South Dakota, they made possible the establishment of perma- 
nent agricultural settlements before they would have been successful 
without this assistance. 

8. Where fur-bearing mammals are numerous, skins, a natural 
commodity which usually has high value, is available for export. 

The "Fur Trade" was at its height in Dakota long before perma- 
next agricultural settlememt commenced, and therefore it influenced the 
settlement slightly. However, the trapping of fur-bearing animals has 
been carried on incidentally by many persons, and has contributed not 

=The one small town which might at first seem to contradict this gen- 
eralization IS located on the table near the north end of the West Short 
Pine Hills in Hardinpr County. Since permanent springs are numerous at 
the base of the Miocene foimation where it outcrops on the margins of this 
table, some 30-50 feet below the level of the town, it is probable that water 
may be obtained at a corresponding level beneath the dog town. The 
selecting of the site for this town might lend support to those who advocate 
that animals possess the i)ower of reason 

•'•Shantz, H. L.: Bulletin No. 201, Summary, 1911, U. S. Department of 
Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 75 

11. The rate of erosion of slopes is suggested: — ■ 

In most places bare slopes indicate rather rapid erosion, and slopes 
covered with vegetation, notably trees, indicate much less rapid erosion. 
In the sandhills, dunes which have remained relatively stationary for 
a considerable interval have in some cases groves on their north-facing 
slopes. 

12. The directions are roughly indicated by certain plants and 
animals: — 

The leaves of tho compass plant (silphium) usually have their edges 
in a north-south direction: several kinds of lichens and mosses are found 
chiefly on the north sides of trees and stones; the vegetation on a steep 
north-facing slope is somewhat markedly different in most places from 
that on a steep south-facing slope: several burrowing animals, (ants, 
badgers, prairie-dog), either in the distribution of the material brought 
up or in the driection of the burrow, give a rough approximation r.s to 
directions. Woodpeckers' holes generally are on the northeastern or 
©astern side of a limb or tree. The entrance to covered nests of such 
birds as the meadowlark, ovenbird and marsh wren in most cases is 
on the east. 

13. The physiographic and even some points in the geologic his- 
tory may be illuminated by the distribution of species, especially their 
presence or absence in areas now favorable to them. Bluffs along the 
valleys become covered with vegetation soon after the stream ceases 
to erode at their base The age of trees on such slopes, as also of 
those in ravines and on terraces and alluvial fans, suggest the age 
of these physiographic features. The presence in the Black Hills of 
numerous boreal species such as the white spruce (I'icea alba) and north- 
ern marmot (Maniiota dacota) suggests that during the geological past 
( the glacial period ) such species were widespread in this latitude. 
With the change of climate some have been stranded in the Black 
Hills. 

In addition to increasing geograiihical _ knowledge in the various 
ways mentioned above, the biota affects runoff, erosion, soil, and evap- 
oration. 

The percentage of precipitation which runs off is affected by the 
biota. Burrows of worms, insects, amphibians and mammals, foot- 
prints of heavy animals, and roots, especially decayed ones, facilitate 
the entrance of water into the soil. Matted and coarse vegetation espe- 
cially retard run-off. 

Erosion is retarded by a vegetable covering. The disintegration of 
rock by temperature changes is also retaided by vegetation. The decay 
of rock materials by chemical means is facilitated by the secretions and 
remains of plants and animals. Animals in general accelerate erosion, 
especially on steep slopes. 

Soil is mixed and extended by burrowing animals, which also in- 
crease aeration and oxidation. All animals and plants contribute or- 
ganic matter to the soil. The roots of plants are potent factors in 
rupturing rock. By retarding the washing away of soil, however formed, 
plants are powerful agents in the accumulation of a deep soil. 

Water which otherwise would run off is conserved in soil clothed 
with vegetation, and given up gradually by evaporation, which process 
lowers the temperature and increases the relative and absolute humid- 
ity; therefore evai)oration of soil mo.sture normally is increased by the 
vegetal covering. 

IMo-Kcoftraphy and Hiiinan Geograiihy. Human activities in an area 
are determined largely by the geographic conditions which prevail there. 
The bio-geography reflects but slightly geographic location, area and min- 
eral resources, though climate, soil, topography, and water conditions 
influence and are influenced by biota. 



76 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



The native biota is a geographic factor of great human sienificance. 
The following illustrations applicable to South Dakota indicate a few 
of its manifold influences. 

1. A grassy area facilitates grazing and agriculture as woods have 
to be cleared, in most cases laboriously, before extensive tillage or pas- 
turage is possible. 

2. Where the' i;oil is tough, laborious breaking necessarily precedes 

agriculture. 

4. Plains which are periodically covered by dry grass permit of wide- 
spread i)rair!e fires and necessitate foresight, care, and cooperation on 
the part of the settlers. 

5. Where but little of the area is wooded, as in South Dakota, 
the importation of wood is necessarv and wood is valued highly. The 
small area of woodland in Scuth Dakota was less of a handicap than 
it might otherwise have been because, (a) lumber served as "return 
freight" in cars which were used for the export of wheat, cattle and 
other bulky commodities. In portions of the state which do not ex- 
port large quantities of such produce, the cost of imported lumber is 
much greater: (b) barbed wire became fairly cheap before it was ex- 
tensively needed in South Dakota for fencing; (c) ash groves widely 
distributed along the valleys and cedar thickets in porfons of the 
western part of the state furnished a large share of the posts required. 
The character of the upland (nearly level and heavily sodded) made 
the hauling of posts and firewood less expensive than it ' might otherwise 
have been; (d) lumber mills were erected early in the Black Hills, the 
forested buttes in Harding County and along the lower Missouri River, 
and the local demand supplied, at least for a time. 

6. The type of the grassy covering has influenced greatly the graz- 
ing industry. In many portions of the earth, graz.ng is less profitable 
than in South Dakota. This is due in no small degree to the "natural 
hay"which is formed here under the influence of the scanty rainfall 
of autumn and winter. The growth of many kinds of grass ceases 
before there are heavy frosts, and the nutriment largely remains in 
the dried standing grass until the rains of the following summer. 

7. Where game birds and mammals are abundant, as they long 
a little to the firm establishment of many pioneers and some latei* 
settlers. 

9. W^here animals of prey, such as wolves, coyotes, bears, pumas, 
horned owls, and other animals, are plentiful, as they formerly were or 
still are in iiarts of South Dakota, their numbers must be depleted before 
various sort-s of livestock and poultry can become very profitable. 

10. Where herbivorous animals of certain kinds, such as bison, 
prairie-dogs, rabbits, locusts, are very numerous, their reduction is 
an essential antecedent to success in various human activities. The same 
may be said of poisonous animals and plants. 

11. Various animals, especially birds and insects, have been val- 
uable allies of man in his struggle against undesirable animals and 
plants ("weeds"). Predatory insects, of which there are many sorts, 
including various spiders, hymenoptera, and ground beetles, are power- 
ful enemies of numerous plant-eating insects. Various insects of which 
the milkweed bug and monarch caterpillar are examples feed solely 
or chiefly upon certain weeds. 

12. Wild fruits, berries, seeds, nuts, and roots contribute to the 
food supply of many persons, and in some instance-s were of great sig- 
nificance to pioneers^ and others. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



77 



H THE BIO-GEOGKAPHIO DISTRICTS. 

Based on the biota, South Dakota may be divided into three dis- 
tricts (Fig. 29) which reflect differences of (a) climate, (b) toi)ography, 
(c) soil, and (d) routes of immigration into the area. The districts 
are (1) the Eastern Third of the state (largely Prairie). (2) the 
Great Plains, (3) the Black Hills. Representative or characteristic 
parts of these districts differ somewhat strikingly. However, sections of 
stream valleys in the Great Plains are transitional between that dis- 
trict and the first (the prairies)- while the forested buttes, escarpments 
and foothills are transitional between the dry grassy plains (the steppe) 
and the forested mountainous Black Hills. 




I The Pro. 

TS. The B/. 



th Hilh 



Fig^. 29. Biog-eographic Districts. la. — The Valleys of the Lower Mis.souri, 
Sioux and Minnesota Rivers. lb. — The East Coteau. Ic. — The Dakota 
Valley. Ila. — The Ui)i)er Missouri Valley. lib. — The West Coteau. He — The 
Dry i'lains. lid. — The Sand Hills. He. — The Badlands. Ilf. — Gumbo Areas 
(other small areas not shown.) Ilg. — Butte.s and Kscapments. Ilia. — Foot- 
hills. 111b.— Red Valley. lllc. — The Limestone Plaeau. Hid. — The Bark 
Area. 



( 1 ) The Ea.stei'n Tliird of the state is largely prairie, but along 
most valleys there are meadows or somewhat dense groves of deciduous 
trees. This part of tho state is fairly well favored in respect to rainfall, 
having an average of about 2 6 inches or nearly 5 per cent more than 
the average for the rest of the state, the higher parts of the Black Hills 
excepted. More than three-quarters of the precipitation falls during the 
six warmer months (April 1-Oct. 1). The warmest as well as the cold- 
est parts of the state are within this district and the average annual 
and daily ranges ara as great as in any other part of the state or even 
greater. 

This is the least rugged large part of the state, as most of it has 
a topograi)hy characteristic of a recently glaciated plain. The soil is 
chiefly clay-loam. 

Many "eastern" plants, birds and other animals are found in this 
district, as it is contiguous with the prairies and savannahs of Iowa 



78 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



and Minnesota and somewhat similar to tliem. Most genera and a major- 
ity of the species of this district are most abundant (have their cen- 
ter of dispersal), to the southeast, outside the state. As an illustration 
of the predominance of eastern species, it may be mentioned that more- 
than 95 per cent of the birds and flowers commonly seen are somewhat 
common east of the 9 0th meridian. Nearly as large a percentage of 
the trees are of indubitable southeastern affinities. 

This district may be divided into (a) the broad river valleys of 
the southern, southeastern, and northeastern margins, (b) the eastern 
coteau, and (c) the Dakota valley. The topography of these subdivis- 
ions has been discussed (]). 50). 

(a) Various siiecies of trees, including the soft maple (Acer sax;- 
chaHimni), Kentucky coffee tree ( Gymnocladus dioica), black walnut 
(Jujilans ni^ra), and the red mulberry (Morus ruba) are native to 
South Dakota only in the lower Missouri and Sioux valleys, and the 
sugar maple (Acer saccliainir^ ) is represented in the state only in the 
shaded ravines about Lakes Bigstone and Traverse near the headwaters 
of the Little Minnesota River. Numerous smaller plants characteristic 
of the eastern moist woods are limited to these valleys, and many typi- 
cally eastern kinds, notably several species of warblers and vireos, are 
seen, chiefly as migrants, only in this extreme eastern part of the 
state. The fox squirrel (Sciurus rufiventer) also is found only in this 
subdistrict. 

(b) The eastern Coteau originally had far fewer trees than sub- 
division (a), but at present there are numerous groves which were 
planted soon after the region was settled. A majority of the 600 
square miles of wood-lots recorded by the census of 19 00 from South 
Dakota are within this section. The presence of manv marshes and 
lakes has made this an attractive region for various, largely eastern, 
species of aquatic plants and water birds, and with the growth of the 
artificial groves, various eastern birds of the woods have become com- 
mon in most parts of this region. 

(c) The Dakota Valloy originally had more woodland than the East 
Coteau, but fewer planted groves have become established, and although 
most of the sky-line is made by trees, not nearly all farms have wood- 
lots. Thriving groves are especially rare in the northern and western 
liarts of this wide valley, since the precipitation decreases in those direc- 
tions. 

( 2 ) Tlie (ireat Plains bio-geographic district includes most of the 
state west of the Dakota Valley, except the Black Hills. This dis- 
trict is mostly a steppe, chiefly occupied by short grasses, low herbs 
and terrestrial animals. Trees are few, being nearly restricted to a 
fringe of cottonwoods and boxelder along the few fairly permanent 
streams. This district is notably more arid than the preceding, the 
rainfall being less regular as well as less abundant. The topography 
is mostly the result of fluvial and pluvial erosion, and is moderately 
rough in many parts. The soils are more varied, there being large 
areas of each of several types. Many eastern species of plants and 
animals, especially those living in the valleys, here reach the west- 
,ern limit of their range, and a number of western species, especially 
among those of the uplands, reach here their eastern limit. Several 
conspicuous forms appear to have spread eastward or westwawrd, or 
both, from the Great Plains: however, a number of species have en- 
tered this district from the southwest. 

Several subdivisions of this district are readily recognizable. (a) 
The postglacial i)art of the Missouri flood-plain (above Charles Mix 
County ) and the lower sections of the flood-plains of its chief trib- 
utaries have many eastern species which are associated with the trees 
dependent on the relatively high water-table; (b) the Western Coteau, 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 79 



transitional in regard to many species, between the typical dry plains 
and the Dakota Valley; (c) the central part occupying much of Stan- 
ley, Meado Perkins and other counties; (d) the sandhills of the south- 
•ern border are similar to those of Nebraska, and contain representatives 
•of many southern species not found elsewhere in the state. (They are 
treated separately in the chapter on physiography, and the section on 
the ecology of the steppe); (e) the badlands in the southwestern quar- 
ter, especially along the upper part of the White river, have many spe- 
■cies which here are near or at the northeastern limit of their range; 
(f) the gumbo areas (Fig. 29) bordering on the Black Hills in the 
valleys of the Cheyenne and Bellefourche rivers have many plants soe- 
'cies which are characteristic of such heav clay soils; (g) the forested 
"buttes and escarpments are intermediate or transitional areas between 
the grassy Great Plains and the forested Black Hills: Both coniferous 
and deciduous trees are important, and there are many species of plants 
and animals found in the Black Hills and the Rocky Mountains, as well 
as some distinctly eastern species. 

(3) The Hlack Hills District, a bio-geographic as well as physio- 
graphic unit, is a mountainous area largely forested with conifers. Be- 
cause of increased altitude, the precipitation is above the average for 
the state, while the average temperature and the rate of evaporation 
are lower, with the result that there is sufficient moisture for many 
species which require a good deal. 

Many Rocky Mountain species reach their easternmost position in 
the Black Hills. A large number of eastern species appear to have 
followed up the east-west valleys which cross the plains to this dis- 
trict. When the ice-cap covered eastern South Dakota, the climate of 
this region was doubtless less arid than now. At various times during or 
shortly before or after the glacial period the unglaciated plains doubtless 
were more favorable to various species than they now are. A few 
conspicuously boreal species are found here also. The latter, of which 
the white spruce (Picea Canadensis) is a striking example, probably 
reached this area when the ice sheet occupied eastern South Dakota, 
and the climate of the portions of the plains was sufficiently cool to 
be congenial. Those in the Black Hills now are separated from their 
nearest relatives (in central Manitoba) by several hundred miles of 
dry plains. 

As might be expected of a somewhat isolated area such as the 
Black Hills, a number of indigenous species are recognized .several 
mammals, (a red squirrel, Sciums hudsonicus dakoteiisis ) , marmot, mar- 
mota dacota, a wood rat, Netoma floridana baileyi and others), one 
bird (the white-winged junco, Junco aikeni), and several plants, belonging 
to various groups. 

There are several bio-geographic as well as geologic, physiographic 
and ecological sub-divisions of this district, (1) the foothills, (2) the 
red valley, (3) the limestone plateau, (4) the park area on the schist. 
The canyons and the higher peaks also have several peculiar species. 

HI. The Ecological Associations 

Variety of the native biota and bases for its classification. In the 

treatment of the biology of the diversified area such as South Dakota, 
it is desirable to sub-divide the region into sections having many fea- 
tures in common. In this state there are native about 60 kinds of 
mammals, 300 species of birds, 24 kinds of reptiles, — snakes, lizards 
and turtles, 7 species of amphibians, many more than a thousand spe- 
cies of insects and more than 2,000 species of seed plants. In addition 
there are fishes, mollusks, crawfish, worms and many smaller forms. 
Of this vast variety of life very many are inconspicuous and not ob- 



80 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



served by non-specialists, although without doubt each species has its 
part to play in the biologic economy of the whole. This is made the 
more likely when it is noted that nearly every species occupies a 
definite place; for example, the species of the shaded ravines are not 
at all the same as those of the plains. 

It is therefore convenient to subdivide the state into areas occu- 
pied by different biological associations or communities of plants and 
animals. Communities or associations having many similarities may 
be grouped into what technically is known as a formation. The forma- 
tions of South Dakota are (1) grass-covered dry plains or steppe.s 
(2) prairie, (3) woodland, (4) meadows, and (5) aquatic. The former 
occupies the most extensive area and the latter the least extensive. 
The areas occupied by these several formations are characterized by 
distinctive features of ' topography, soil, water conditions, climate, veg- 
etation and animal life. Individual plants (with a few exceptions) 
are stationary, but the species moves by means of the seeds, runners 
or off-shoots. In the case of animals, most species and individuals are 
able to move about, consequently the animals are but partially confined 
to a given association. The coyote, for example, may be found in each 
community, but in some, as the stream, pond, or marsh, its presence 
obviously "indicates a visit. In the case of animals, the areas in which 
they rear their young are considered to reveal the associations to which 
they truly belong. 

1. THE STEPPE FORMATION OR GROUP OF COMMUTNITIES.e 

A. As a AVhoIe. 
1 . Distribution. 

About three-fourths of the state is covered by vegetation charac- 
terized by its patchy or scattered distribution and, in most associations, 
by its shortness. 

The steppe group of associations has its center in the Great Plains 
section, occupying most of bio-geographic District II (Fig. 29), and is 
represented in small • exposed areas on clay soil and in the western 
part of the eastern third of the state (District I.) The grassy tops of 
most of the flattish-topped buttes of the western third of the state, and 
many treeless portions at lower elevations in the Black Hills also are 
occupied by members of this formation. 

2. GENERAL GEOGRAPHIC CONDITIONS OF THE STEPPE. 

The climatic conditions of the Great Plains are severe. The rain- 
fall is irregular in its distribution. It sometimes falls in hard show- 



"Heferences to literature on the steppe: The physical geog-raphy is 
treated in earlier chapters of this paper where additional citations are given. 
Little has been written on the biology of the South Dakota steppe. The 
author's papers on the biology of south-central South Dakota, S. D. Geol. 
Survey Bull. 5, pp. 61-130, 1912, and on the biology of Harding County, north- 
western South Dakota, S. D. Geol. Survey Bull. 6, pp. 11-103, 1914, are chief. 
The bircLs of Stanley County are treated in The Auk, April, 1909, pp 144-153; 
of Fall Uiver Co. m the Wilson Bulletin, March, 1912, pp. 1-6. and March, 
1913, pp 3S-39; of Harding- County in The Auk for January, 1911, January, 
1912. and July, 1913, summarized in Bull. 6; The plants of south-central S. D. 
in Muhlenbergia IX. 1913, pp. 45-52, of northwestern South Dakota, ibid, pp. 
6.-84. Ihe only other articles are short lists of birds and plants of portions 
of the old Rosebud Reservation by Reagen, A. B., and Jones, Sheridan, S. D. 
Geol. Survey, Bull. 4, 1908. 

Pound & Clements: The Phyto-Geography of Nebraska, 1900. and Pool, 
Jx. J.: A Study of the Veg-etation of the Sand-hills of Nebraska. 1914, are 
valuable discussions of the plants of a neighboring state Shelford V E" 
Animal tommunities in Temperate America as illustrated bv the Chicago 
Region, 1913, although it contains no treatment of the animals' of the steppe, 
IS of great value. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 81 



ers and occasionally is accompanied by hall. Slight showers may bring 
the only precipitation received during long periods. Droughts of 
shorter (a few weeks) or longer (two or three seasons) duration are 
not rare. Ordinarily, about three-quarters of the total precipitation 
(which averages about 15 inches per year) takes place in the six grow- 
ing months (April to Sept. inclusive). The rest of the year is conspicu- 
ously dry. The relative humidity of the atmosphere in the steppe is 
low and the rate of evaporation high. In much of the area, the possi- 
ble rate of evaporation is two to five times the average rainfall. 

The range of temperature is almost 150° Fahr. annually and fre- 
quently 50° daily. The seasons are irregular as to time of occurrence, 
and summer and winter exhibit wide extremes of temperature. Maxima 
of 100° F. and minima of — 40° are not rare. Freezes which terminate 
most of the vegitative activity occasionally occur as early as mid-Sep- 
tember and as late as May, and less severe frosts as early as the be- 
ginning of September and as late as early June. 

Winds are peristent. The velocity is seldom high, but an 8-12 mile 
breeze is almost constant during the daytime. In the summer, such 
winds may be exceedingly hot and, if the air is very dry, may wither 
the vegetation. In the winter the winds often are very cold. When 
driving dry snow, high winds are peculiarly severe. 

There is little protection from the heat of the sun for the plants 
or for non-burrowing animals, except those which can be sheltered by 
low shrubs, which are rarely dense, the larger herbs, and the very low 
cliffs ("cut banks") which are found here and there along the valleys. 
Dark cloudy days are infrequent. In light conditions, the steppe ap- 
proaches the desert. 

Most of the area is in the stage of erosion known as early maturity. 
Nearly all is underlain by only locally consolidated clays and sands. 

3. THE MORE CONSPICUOUS PLANTS AXD ANIMALS." 

(a) Plants. The predominant plants are the grasses, » the grama 
grass, buffalo grass, wheat grass and triple-awned grass being chief. 

Plants of the Composite family occupy second place. In the sum- 
mer they are more conspicuous in many places than the grasses. Nearly 
a third of the common species belong to this family. The most notewor- 
thy are: 9 blazing-star, golden-rod, cone-flower, golden-aster, white aster, 
resin or gum-weed, nigger-head, worm-wood, sage, prairie-sage, sun- 
flower, yarrow, prairie-pink, fleabane, and two with no common names, 
Sideranthus, Actinella. 

The Legume family ranks third. It includes some of the more 
abundant plants of these plains, notablyio the prairie-clover, lead-plant, 
Dakotah vetch, buffalo-bean, loco, lupine, and wild alfalfas. 

"The author is under obliKations to the U. S. Biological Survey for de- 
termining the varieties of numerous mammals and a few birds, to P. A. 
Rydberg and .\ven Nelson for naming plants; to Alexander Ruthven for de- 
termining reptiles and amphibians; and to L. P. Morse, W. M. Mann and 
others for naming insects. 



sRouteloua oligostachya ; Buchloe dactyloides; Agropyron tenerum. A. 
dasy.^tachyum, A. Smithii. Siiorobolus brevifolius. 

"Liatri.s punctata; Solidago missouriensis, S. mollis, S. rigida, S. serotina; 
Ratibida columnaris; Chrysojisis mollis, C. hir.sutissima; Aster hebecladus, A. 
oblongifolious; Grindelia squarrosa; Brauneria angustifolia; Ambrosia trifida: 
Artemisia frigida, A. aromatica; Helianthus Maximilianus; Achillea mille- 
folium; Lygodcsmia juncea; Krigeron asper, E. pumilus, E. ramosus; Sideran- 
thus spinulosus; Actinella simplex. 

lopetalostemon purpureus, P. oligophyllus; Amorpha canescens, Lotus ameri- 
canus; Astragalus caespitosus, A. succulentus, A. canadensis, Aragallus Lam- 
bertii; Lupinus argenteus; Psoralea argophylla, P. cuspidata, P. digitata, P. 
tenuiflora. 

Sig.— 6. 



S2 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

Abundant Monocotyledons, othei- than the grasses, are wild onion 
and prairie lilies. n Diocotyledons other than the composites and 
legumes are numerous. There are several crucifers (mustard family), 
includingi^ shepherd's purse, wall flower, and Lesquerella, Sophia, Arabis. 
Several sorts of evening primrosesis are conspicuous because of showy 
flowers. Chenopodsi* are plentiful in the more clayey or more sandy 
areas. Three genera of scrophs or beard's tonguesis help adorn the 
plains. The roses, wild flax, milkwort, false mallow, puccoon, plantain, 
Oreocarya, and Cogswellia are also represented abundantly. i« 

(b)' Birds. Among birds the only permanent resident represented 
by many individuals is the desert horned lark. it Longspurs of some spe- 
cies are found in all seasons, the chestnut-collared and McCown's long- 
spurs nesting here abundantly and the Lapland longspur wintering here. 
Two other members of the sparrow family, the lark bunting and the 
western vesper sparrow are very numerous. The former is quite char- 
acteristic, as is also the desert horned lark. Other prominent nesting 
birds are the Brewer blackbird, burrowing owl, Sennett's nighthawk, 
upland plover. Formerly the long-billed curlew and the prairie sharp- 
tailed grouse were common. Several birds nest in the groves of scat- 
tered trees along the streams (considered here under woodland), but 
often feed upon the steppe far from their nests. Examples are: the 
ferruginous, rough-legged Swanson's and sparrow hawks. The cliff 
and barn swallows, nesting on cliffs or about buildings, are also seen 
often. 

(c) Mammals. No conspicuous species appear to be confined in 
its range to the steppe of South Dakota, though several varieties are. 
Of these the plains coyote, plains pocket-gopher, certain mice and voles 
may be mentioned. is Other mammals abundantly represented on the 
steppe are thei" prairie-dog, badger, jackrabbit, large and little skunks, 
gray wolf, kit-fox or swift, long-tailed weasel, striped spermophile, and 
formerly the antelope and bison. 

'^Allium reticulatum and A. rubrum; Leucocrinum montanum and Fritil- 
laria atroijurjiurea. 

'^Capsella l>ursa-pastoris, Erysimum a.si)erum, E. inconspicuum. Lesquerella 
lunellii, L argentea; Sophia incisa, S pinnata; Arabis hirsuta. 

'■'Onogra albicaulis; A. Nuttallii; Onagra striogosa: Gaura coccinea : 
Meriolix serraluta. 

"Chencpodium album, C. Fremontii, C. incanum, C. Watsonii, C. pratino- 
cola, C. dacoticum; Atriplex argentea, A. canescens, A. i\uttallil, A. Such- 
leyana; Suaeda erecta. 

'^Castelleja Hava; Orthocarpus luteus; Pentstemon acuminatus, P. albidus, 
P. eriarithera, P. grandiflorus. 

i"Rosa arkansana, R. Fendleri, R. Woodsii; Linum Lewisii. L. rigidum; 
Polygala alba; Malvastrum coccineum; Lithospermum ang-ustifolium, L. line- 
anfolium; Onosmodium occidentale; Plantago elongata. i'. I'urshii; Oreo- 
carya glomei-ata. O. peienans; Cogswellia macrocarpa, C. montana. 

'■In the interest of brevity and simplicity, technical names are used here 
only in case the common name does not indicate the plant or animal under 
di^jpussion with a definiteness sufficient for the purpose at hand. Since 
the American Ornithologists Union adopted distinctive names for the Ameri- 
can birds at an early date and as these names now are familiar to all stu- 
dents of birds, the common names may be used here without misunderstand- 
ing- 1 he scientific names of various widely distributed and well known ani- 
mals, such as the pronghorn antelope, bison, gray wolf, striped gopher, com- 
mon toad and rattle snake are given only once or twice. As most common 
names of plants apply to more than one species, technical names usually are 
necessary for precision, and therefore are used more frequently. Reference 
to a plant by its incomplete name implies that the species is the one enum- 
erated in the list of conspicuous species where technical names will be 
lound or the one mentioned only a few lines above. 

Cams latrans; Thomomys clusius; Geomps (bursarius) lutescens; Pero- 
m>scus maniculatus ncbrascensis, P. leucopus aridulus; Peroa:natlius fasciatus. 
Cynomys ludovicianus; Taxidea t. taxus; Lepus c. campestris: L cali- 
rornicus melantois; Mephitis (Chincha) hudsonica: Spilogale interrupta; Canis 
^,V.?i f-V * l'^*^^ velox; Mustek! longicauda; Citellus tridecemlineatus olivac- 
eous, C. t. tridecemlinea us; Antilocapra americana; Bison bison. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 83 

(d) Other aiiimals. The most common snake is the plain bull 
snake, with the plains blue racer next and the prairie rattlesnake third 
in most places and seasons. The horned lizard is numerous in many 
localities. The common toad is seen frequently. The Great Plains 
toad is characteristic but not abundant. -« 

Invertebrates aside from the insects are unimportant in this group 
of associations. It appears that only three of the numerous phyla are 
represented, the protozoa relatively sparsely, mollusca chiefly by but 
one species of land snail (Succinea j»rosvonorii ) and the arthropoda by 
a few spiders-i and centipedes, and by numerous insects of six of the 
eight orders: Orthoptera (grasshoppers and locusts), Diptera (gnats, 
mosquitoes, flies), Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), Coleoptera 
(beetles) and Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, ants Ichneumons) and Hemip- 
tera (bugs. The locusts and grasshoppers^-' are the most conspicuous, 
insects and most injurious. 

The Hymenoptera of several families (digger wasps, ants, woolly 
bees) are abundant. Blow flies, bot flies (GastrophiliLs equi) and 
robber flies are plentiful. Lepidoptera are few upon the stoppe. The 
beetles are mostly ground beetles. -^^ Bugs are very rare upon the 
steppe. 

4. "ADAPTATIONS" OF THE LIFE OF THE STEPPE TO GEOGRAPHIC 

CONDITIONS. 

(a) Plants. The plants display a variety of characteristics seem- 
ingly related to the environments, including: 

1. The predominance of perennial grasses and herbs, the latter 
belonging chiefly to the higher orders. 

2. Compactness of stalk or flower or both. 

3. Specialization of the root system. 

4. Prevalence of narrow or small leaves or thick cutin (epider- 
mis). 

5. Pollination and seed dispersal accomplished in a vast majority 
of the species by the wind. 

6. Ability to mature quickly. 

7. Time of growth not closely confined as to season. 

8. Destruction of exposed parts usually does not result in the 
death of the plant. 

9. Ability to withstand inactivity, forced by drought, for even 
two or three years. 

10. Resistance to unseasonable warm spells and frosts 

11. Marked seasonal succession depending on accumulated heat, 
water content of the soil, relative humidity and precipitation. 

12. The predominance of yellow flowers. 

(1) Although in favorable years annuals are conspicuous, herba- 
ceous perennials are its characteristic vegetation. There are no large- 
shrubs, and no trees. This characteristic is in contrast to woodland, 
desert, prairie and most mashes. 



="The technical names of these reptiles are: Pityophis catetiifer sayi, 
Bascanion constrictor flaviveiitii.s, Crotalus conlluentus and I'hrynosonia doug- 
lassi hermandesi; of the toads: Bufo americanus and B. cognatus. 

-'Mostly of the jumping (TMiidippus) and running- types. 

--The genera more abundantly reiiresented include Melanophus (M. 
brivittatus and others); Si)arogemoii (S. aequale and others); Dactylotum (D. 
pictum); Phlibostoma; Hippiscus; Di.ssosteria (D. Carolina); Hrachystola (B. 
hagna); Nachyrhackis; Xijihidium; Opeia; Accanthus. Hadtrotettiz (H. trifas- 
ciatus). 

^Perhaps the following include the more abundantly represented genera. 
Argynnis; Apatelia; Basilarchia; Chrysophanus; Coelnonympha; Colias; Lyca- 
ena; Thanaos. 

=*Eleodes obsoleta, E. opaca, E. tricostata; Silpha ramosua; Harpalus 
eraticus and others. 



84 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

The relatively firm turf which prevails in the more favorable por- 
tions of the steppe hinders the establishment of annuals, which there- 
fore are much more conspicuous in the more arid and more sandy por- 
tions. Frequent prairie fires occur where there is a fairly close turf, 
for reasons already mentioned. Fires are powerful factors in pre- 
vemting the spread of trees and shrubs. The large shrubs are restricted 
chiefly to the more arid or more rugged portions where vegetation is 
discontinuous in its distribution and where combustible material is sep- 
arated comparatively widely. During the six or eight months in which 
there is little vegetative activity because of lack of sufficient heat or 
moisture, evaporation from all exposed living surfaces is continued by 
the intensely drying winds which frequently prevail on the steppe. Plants 
not presenting living surfaces from which extensive evaporation takes 
place when the water lost cannot soon be replaced, have the advantage 
over other species. If planted on the steppe, most of the shrubs and 
trees not especially resistant to loss of moisture through the bark are 
killed during the months of inactivity rather than during the normal 
summer season. 

(2) Compactness of stalk is illustrated by almost all the plants. 
Few abundant upland species reach a height, in ordinary seasons, of 
much more than a foot, and exceedingly few reach three feet. The 
majority have most of their bulk within six inches of the soil. 
Genera, such as the rose, sunflower, sage and golden-rod, which have 
representatives in other ecological formations, are in most cases rep- 
resented on the steppe by the most dwarfed species of the genus. Two 
striking examples of small size are the plains rose, in many cases 
a simple bush less than five inches tall, which bears but one flower, 
and the plains sunflower which in most cases is less than seven inches 
tall, and in dry years, especially on clay, has many individuals which 
are less than four inches high. The conspicuous places held in the 
flora by the Compositae points to compactness, of flowering parts. Even 
the grasses (grama, buffalo, wheat and others) have the spikelets 
somewhat compactly arranged instead of loosely as in typically prairie 
and woodland species. 

Compactness of growth decreases exposure to the winds. In most 
formations, an insufficiency of sunlight results in a diffuse and ex- 
tended growth. There is no such insufficiency during the growing 
season in the steppe. Size in many cases is related to conditions during 
growth. Cultivated plants normally are larger than other individuals 
of the same species, which in turn are larger during moist seasons, 
than during dry seasons. 

(3) There are many plants which have developed a shallow, wide- 
spreading root-system. This appears to be a response to the many 
slight showers, the water of which does not soak in deeply. The buffalo 
and grama grasses have their roots mostly confined to within a foot 
from the surface. In contrast to these there are such deep-rooted 
plants as Psoralea, a rather coarse herb, which has almost all of its 
finer roots at a depth greater than four feet, and in some cases pen- 
etrates hard sub-soil more than six feet, and looser materials still 
farther. Certain genera including the sages (Artemisia) and Gutierrizia, 
have both well developed lateral roots and rather deep tap-roots. Most 
plants which are abundant on the more impervious soils have shallower 
root systems than- those in the looser soils. Shrubs and coarse herbs 
have root systems which go down to greater depths, than do those of 
lesser plants, probably because of their greater exposure to the winds. 
They need firmer anchorage and a more reliable water supply than is 
found near the surface. The plants showing shortage of water in 
enlargements of the roots are chiefly the blazing star, the Indian turnip. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



(Psoralea asculenta) and the bush-morning-glory (Ipomoea leptophylla). 
The cacti (Opuntia, Mamillaria) are the only plants which store con- 
siderable amounts of water above ground. 

(4) Most of the plants have either small or narrow leaves, and 
a few like the prairie-pink, Gutierrezia, and the cacti are almost leaf- 
less. Abundant species with resin include the cone-flower, gum-weed, and 
Pscralea.25 

Many species have thick epidermis, which in many cases is covered 
by numerous dry scales. The sages (Artemisia, Eurotia lanata) Poraleas 
and Antennarias have a grayish coloration due to such scales. 

These characteristics of leaves and cover clearly retard evapora- 
tion, and thus appear to be responses to the moisture conditions of the 
steppe. 

5. The seeds of nearly 90 per cent of the abundant species on 
the steppe are distributed by the wind. The tumble-weed habit, in 
which the aerial part of the plant becomes detached from the root 
and are rolled across the plains by the wind, is developed almost solely 
by plants of the wind-swept plains. Several species with this habit, 
belonging to several families, are represented abundantly in South 
Dakota. The chenopod family is the chief one, and is represented by 
the giant tumble weed. The Russian thistle, and the bug-weed. Two 
legumes, the Indian-turnip and the wild alfalfa, two species of the 
Amarathnceae, a composite and two grasses also have this habit. 

Persistent surface winds, few places of lodgement such as bodies 
of water, very rugged areas, thickets and other places unfavorable 
for steppe plants, and the scarcity of other agents of dispersal all 
have contributed to the predominance of species dispersed by the wind. 

(6) The ability to mature quickly is possessed by most plants 
in this formation. The period between killing frosts in spring and fall 
is short, averaging about 120 days and having a minimum length of 
more than a month less. The growing season is shortened usually 
still further by the drying weather in August and September. Few 
conspicuous plants require more than two months for the maturing of 
their seeds, and many need even less time. This is in contrast to the 
condition in most other formations. 

(7) The climate of the steppe is variable. In some years the 
vegetation is two weeks ahead of normal, and the next year it may be 
far behind. Delayed rains occasionally cause a surprisingly late flower- 
ing. We have found flowers of the rose and even of the pasque flower 
late in August, following July and August rains and a very dry spring 
and early summer. 

(8) The characteristic steppe plants have a wonderful resistance 
to prairie-fires and grazing, which may frequently destroy the aerial 
parts. Many typical plants such as trees and shrubs of other ecological 
associations are killed by the destruction of only a small part of the 
aerial growth. Certain steppe species are killed, however, by too fre- 
quent fires (oftener than once in three years for example) or by close 
pasturing. 

(9) After a series of wet years there are many new immigrants 
into the steppe. A dry year or two decimates or eliminates species 
which are only visitants to the steppe. The characteristic species seem 
to be almost uninjured by even prolonged drought. In the summer 
of 1911 for example, there were localities which for two years had 



=5Kspecially tlif case in P. dis'itata, ]'. linearifolia and P. tenuiflora. 

-'"Thu chenopods are Cycloma artiplicifolium, Salsola pestifer and Coris- 
permum hyssopifolium; the legumes, Psoralea esculenta and P. floribunda; 
the amaranths, Amaranthus albus and A. graeclzans; the composite, Town- 
sendia sericea; the grasses, Panicum capillare and Schedonnardus panlculatus. 



86 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



been so dry that almost no grass had grown; yet when the unusual 
rains of August came, the ground was green within a few days. 

(10) The vegetation does not start quickly in the spring; but, 
if after it has started, a freeze comes, suprisingly few of the more 
characteristic plants are killed. The native steppe vegetation is seldom 
affected noticeable by early autumn frosts. In areas less likely to have 
unseasonable frosts, many species are severely injured when such frosts 
occur. 

(11) The succession of flowers in an ordinary year, is striking. 
There are at least five well marked periods, the prevernal, vernal, 
aestival, serotinal, and autumnal. During one period the plains are 
dominated by one group of flowers, and during the succeeding periods 
by still others. The early bloomers of the steppe include Cymopterus 
acaulis, pasque flower, violet (Alicia nuttallii) and prairie lilv. Among 
those blooming in June are the beard's tongues,-" onions, camas (Zygo- 
denus ill termed ius), loco, buffalo bean (Astragalus),-^ wild flax. -in In 
July niggerhead (Braunia), prairie clover, wild alfalfa ( Psoralea l,^" false 
mallow, stemless evening primrose (Gaura), and spurge are prominent. 
During August, the numerous species of asters, 'i golden-rod, 32 and the 
fleabane (Senicio canus) are in their glory. The sages^s are in full 
bloom early in September. 

Accompanying this progressive activity there is a shifting in floristic 
complexion of the region. Early in the season the plants are related 
mainly to eastern or mountain species, while as the season advances, 
conditions become more severe and the active or dominant species are 
successively related to plants of the prairies, drier plains, and flnally 
the desert. 

This succession corresponds with changes in the temperature 
of the air and soil, and in the moisture content of soil and atmosnhere. 

(12) Many of the more abundant species are yellow, although 
several conspicuous flowers are white, orange, or pale blue. There 
are few reds, deep blues, or violets. Very few are streaked or mottled. 
In the vast majority of cases the flowers are small in size as compared 
with those of other plant formations, and few are particularly fragrant. 
The color probably is related to the light conditions, and the fragrance 
to the windiness, which also doubtless affects the size of flowers. 

(b) Birds. The birds of the steppe possess two or more of the fol- 
lowing characteristics: 

1. Nests are necessarily built on the ground. 

2. Many kinds sing while on the wing. Examples are the lark 
bunting, longspur, Sprague's pipit, and frequently the western meadow- 
lark and horned lark. 

3. The songs and calls are loud compared with those of birds 
of woodland or prairie. Because of climatic conditions of the steppe, 
representatives of species in many cases are farther apart than in most 
other areas. Calls and songs fulflll their chief purpose only when they 
are heard by other individuals of the species, and therefore need to be 
relatively loud in the steppe. 



^rontstemon acuminatus. P. albidus, P. erianthera, P. grandiflorus. 

^^Astrag-alus caryocarpus, A. flexuosu.s, A. lotiflorus, A. mlcrolobus, A. 
Missouriensis, and A. triphvUus, in addition to those given in note 6. 

="Linum Lewisii, L. rigidum. 

•■"Mentioned in note 10. The next three plants are Malvastrum coccineum, 
Gaura coccinea. Euphorbia marginata, E. arkansana. 

^Aster commutatu.s-, A. hebecladus, A. multiflorus. A. oblongifolious. 

3=Solidago nemoralis, in addition to those mentioned in note 5. 

^•'.A^rtemsia aromatica, A. cana, A. frigida, A. ludviciana. 

s^Statements made by Craig, "W^allace: "North Dakota Life," Bull. Am. 
Geog. Soc. XL. pp. 401-415, 1908, have led to the erroneous generalization bv 
a few animal ecologists unfamiliar with birds that gregariousness is a 
characteristic of steppe birds. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 87 

4. Social flocking^'* is less prominent than among the birds of 
the woods, water, or prairies, where not only do various species migrate 
in large flocks, but troops wander socially about in other seasons, espe- 
cially in winter, and several abundant species nest in colonies. The 
grackle, crow, swift, swallows, night-herons, black-birds, marsh wrens, 
numerous water- birds, and the bobolink and dickcissel are examples. If 
the cliff swallow which nests her© and there in the badlands, be ex- 
cepted, none of the abundant birds of the steppe nest in colonies. The 
scattered distribution of life on the steppe, noted in the preceding para- 
graph, is exemplified in the distribution of the nests of the stepite birds. 
The lark bunting and longspurs, and occasionally the Swinsou's hawk 
migrate in flocks which however, soon break up. Flocking in the 
winter is largely accidental. Birds gather where food is available, in 
areas swept by the wind or in patches of taller vegetation which are 
not snow-covered. Weedy fields, where seeds are abundant, often are 
the site of such gatherings. 

.'). Many have the ability to Avithstand strong wind. For example, 
seed-eaters feed during the winter in apparent comfort on wind-swept 
hills. 

6. Females and nestlings are almost all protectively colored. This 
seems required by the exposure of the nesting sites. 

7. Most species are highly migratory. Few individuals remain 
during winter, and these are of species different from those of sum- 
mer, except in the case of the desert horned lark. Even this species 
migrates somewhat. The aridity and the inactivity of other life com- 
bine with the cold to encourage the desertion of the steppe during the 
winter season. 

5. Most birds have the ability to withstand the intense heat of 
the sun. This is especially notable in the nestlings which are often 
on dark ground. 

9. The birds of the steppe of necessity must require but little 
drinking water. Heavy dews are rare. 

10. The power of acute long-range vision apiiears to be possessed 
by a much larged number of birds of the steppe than by those inhab- 
iting woodlands. Clearness of atmosphere, slightness of relief over large 
areas, and the widely scattered distribution of life all probably have 
encouraged the development of acute long-range vision. 

(c) Mammals. The mammals of the steppe have all acquired two 
or more of the following characteristics: 

1. Ability to run swiftly. Examples are the antelope (32 miles 
an hour), jackrabbit (28 miles an hour), coyote (24 miles an hour), 
kit fox or swift (20 miles an hour), and gray wolf (20 miles an hour). 35 

It is possible to run more swiftly upon dry grassy plains than 
through woods or brush, in marshes or across rugged tracts. F'or this 
reason the inhabitants of such plains have come to be the fleetest 
runners. Long distance running w^as developed among some of the 
larger mammals, apparently because of the. relative scarcity of places 
of retreat. 

2. Ability to burrow. Examples are the pocket-gophers, striped 
gophers, badgers, prairie dogs, mice voles. About 70 per cent of the 
species rear their young in burrows and nearly iiO per cent of the spe- 
cies spend much of their time underground. Burrows are retreats from 
heat, cold, wind, and some enemies, and for the iirairie dog, at least 
in some cases, furnish access to the underground water supply. 

3. Many have acute long-range vision. The fleet runners all have. 

^Velocitie.s are those attained by the normal, healthy nflult when pursued 
by grevhounds, and are quoted fi-oin Scton, I'V. T. : Life lli.storie.s of Northern 
Animals, (New York, 1909). 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



This appears to have been developed by the same factors mentioned in 
the discussion of the vision of birds. 

4. A gray or tawney type of coloration which harmonizes well 
with dead leaves is possessed bv nearly all. The skunk, an exception, 
is less in need of protective coloration than are the other mammals 
of the plains. 

6. Ability to do without much drinkine water. Water for physio- 
logical activity and for cooling by perspiration is secured mainly from 
the food eaten. Footprints of most steppe animals are seldom seen 
in mud about water holes. This is especially true in regard to the 
rodents, including the .iackrabbit. 

!6i. The daily period of activity is chiefly in the early morning, 
in the evening, and to a lesser degree at night. 

Voluntary activity of almost all abundant mammals of the steppe 
is very limited during the heat of the summer day, when as manv as 
may are in the shade. Activity generates heat which must be elim- 
inated by perspiration, which in turn requires water, an article which 
ofteoi is precious. 

7. Ability to hibernate. The long-distance runners and the car- 
nivores do not hibernate, but, with the exception of the rabbits, rodents, 
the most numerous mammals on the plains, do, and for longer periods 
than related species in other formations. Hibernation is a response to 
the unfavorable conditions which prevail during the winter months. 

8. The larger herbivores, the bison and antelope, migrated chiefly 
in response to irregularity of rain and snow. "Wolves, which preyed 
upon them, accompanied them in their wanderings. 

9. A few of the mammals of the steppe are gregarious; the bison 
and antelope congregated probably for protection from wolves and 
bears, and in response to the lack of numerous places of escape; but 
also in winter for the heat accumulated in a closely packed herd. Prairie- 
dogs are grouped in towns for protection against coyotes and certain 
hawks, and possibly by the somewhat restricted soil and ground water 
conditions which they appear to require. 

(d) Reptiles. The reptiles of which the bull-snake, rattle-snake, 
plains garter snake, and blue-racer, and the horned lizard are chief, 
possess a surprisingly effective coloration; hibernate for nearly half the 
year, or even longer; can get along without drinking water'; and are 
of small size as compared with related forms in more humid areas. 
Although the vast majority of reptiles lay eggs, three of the five abun- 
dant steppe reptiles (the rattler, plains garter snake, and horned-lizard) 
bring forth their young alive. This may be in response to the "hard" 
conditions imposed by the climate. 

(e) Insects. Concerning the insects of the steppe, the following 
points may be made: 

1. The diurnal period of greatest activity is in the forenoon from 
7-11 o'clock, after the chill of the early morning is gone but before 
the heat becomes oppressive.- Coition is carried on chiefly between 11 
o'clock and one. During the rest of the twenty-four hours most of 
the insects are quiescent except when disturbed. 

2. Seasonal activity is limited nearly to the warmer and more 
moist three or four months of the year, chiefly June, July and Aug- 
ust. There is almost complete inactivity during the colder and drier 
months of the year. Most species are dormant during ten or eleven 
months of the year, when many are represented chiefly by eggs. 

3. Many forms burrow or occupy mamalian burrows, in so doing 
having retreats from wind, heat, cold and some enemies. Steppe spe- 
cies in many cases burrow to much greater depths than related species 
of other communities. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 89 



4. There is a predominance of hoppers or fast walkers. The 
development of hopping as a chief mode of progression is not so much 
discouraged on the steppe as in several other formations hy frequent 
collisions with tall vege'tat'on. The habit of runnina: is favored by 
bare soil and is more marked among insects of the drier than of the 
moister parts of the steppe, and still more among those of the desert. 
5. Few species spend much time on the wins. The windiness of 
the steppe discourages extended flights. The occasional large flights 
of locusts form conspicuous exceptions to this rule. 

( B ) THE BI'FFATX>-GRu\>IA GRASS OR CLUVfAX STEPPE ASSOCIATION. 

This is the short-grass association par excellence and in many 
respects is the most characteristic steppe assoriation. In the central 
part of the steppe region it is found on a variety of medium soils, 
lighter clays, silts and loams, and is the dominant association over 
wide stretches. As the heavier and lighter soils are alte-ed to loams 
by mixture and other processes, and as the drainage is perfected and 
ruggedness decreased, this association is extended at the expense of the 
other steppe associations. 

To the east of the Great Plains province, the buffalo-grama grass 
association is represented on the high prairies on well drained clay 'soil. 
In the more arid belt to the west it is found whe''e the run-off is less 
rapid, as on the flatfish tops of buttes and on terraces. 

One of the two dominant grasses, the short, curlv, buffalo-grass, is 
less tolerant of sand than is the taller grama grass, various species of 
which are of secondarv importance in distinctly s^ndy areas. 

The life of this assoriation is more varied than that of other parts 
of the steppe. Many of the species mentioned as represented generally 
in the steppe are most abundant here, and in no other part of the 
stei)pe is found so large a number of specie's. In addition, the Triple- 
awned grass is abundant upon the more silty and loamy areas, and the 
needle grass (Stipa), and June grass (Koeleria cristata( on the more 
sandy soil. The small milkweed (Asclepias pumila), the pincushion cactus 
(Mamillaria vivpare), and Parosela aurea are rather numerous. 

Nearly all the birds of the steppe nest usually or occasionally in 
this association. The Sprague's Pipit is here characteristic. The bison 
and the pronghorned antelope appear to have been at home here. The 
striped gopher is most abundant here, but reptiles and toads are less 
abundant. -^ 

(C) THE NEEDLE GRASS OR SANDY liOAM STEPPE ASSOCIATION. 

This association occupies uplands on sandy-loam soil and is char- 
acterized by the needle, devil's or spear grass and .lune 'grass .lust 
mentioned. In areas of rather uniform s-^il and tojiographic conditions 
these two grasses may dominate. In more eandy areas, coarse herbs 
of astragalus, lui)ines and psoraleas are very conspicuous and com- 
paratively uniformly distributed, and sand grass occupies small areas 
especially on slopes. In soils having a larger percentage of silt or 
clay, there are patches of buffalo and grama grass. The lead-plant is 
in evidence in areas of coarse sand, or gravel mixed with finer mate- 
rials. These herbs, and others that are represented less abundantly, 
have showy blue flowers. During the weeks preceding the shedding of 
the needles, this association is perhaps the most beautiful of those of 
the steppe, because of the needles which glisten and wave in the breeze 
and the blue flowers then conspicuous. These are set off by the yellow 

'".AKtrap:alus mollissimus. A. ad-sursens. A. canadfn.si.s: I.,upiiius pusillus. 



90 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

and brownish flowers so widespread on the steppe. When the needles 
are ripe they become readily attached to clothing, Ion? hair or wool, 
and by the help of several twists which develyop as the needles dry, 
readily work inward and often cause pain. For obvious reasons, hay 
containing many needles is much less desirable than common prairie 
hay. The mowing and grazing, especially bv sheep, of areas infested 
with needle grass is confined preferably to the season before the seeds 
begin to ripen in July, or after the needles have fallen. 

(I)) THE WHEAT CKASS OR CLAY STEPPE ASSOCIATION 

The dominant grass or clay is the western wheat grass, sometimes 
popularly known as salt grass. It is widespread in areas where shales 
outcro]) and along flood-plains. The generalized soil map (Fig. 2) 
shows the area of clay soils, and thus the region in which this association 
is most widespread. This grass has a very much larger percentage of its 
growth more than two inches from the soil than do the other widespread 
stei)pe grasses of fairly level areas. It also responds to an increased 
supply of water in a more satisfactory manner than the other abundant 
steppe grasses; in fact in some places and in some seasons, it attains 
a height of two feet. It therefore is a valuable hay crop along the flood- 
plains and on other areas which are flooded frequently, but upon which 
the water does not stand long. Because clay is relatively impervious. 
the percentage of absorption is slight except where the water stands for 
a time. Because of these geographic factors, enterprising farmers and 
stockmen erect wing dams and dig contour ditches in favorable places, 
and use flood waters to produce excellent meadows. 

Although wheat grass is present in a rather pure stand in areas 
which are flooded frequently, in many places various other species are 
conspicuous. The variety of abundant plant and animal life is normally 
less in this than in other parts of the steppe however. 

On well drained slopes on the "gumbo," the vegetation is scanty 
except in wet seasons, and the soil is littla concealed. Among the 
scatterel growth of grass, various chenopods-T and the crucifer pepper- 
grass (Lepicium) and prickly pear cactus and the dock (Rumex venosus) 
are conspicuous in many places, as are also the Dakota vetch and the 
gum weed. 

On the somewhat alkaline soil of many "blow-outs" and other 
undrained depressions, alkali grass replaces wheat grass, while the 
smaller prickly-pear is in many places exceedingly abundant. Two or 
three kinds of chenopods are often conspicuous. -« 

On valley flats the spurge, "snow-on-the-mountain" (Euphorbia 
margiiiata, E. Arkansaiia) is dominant in some seasons in many places, 
especially near the bluffs and in prairie-dog towns. It is perhaps the 
most conspicuous annual growing on the steppe. The bur-tomato 
(Solanum rostratum) is another annual which is sometimes conspicuous 
in similar situations, and also in deserted fields. Since valley flats 
receive the run-off from an extensive area, there is a sporadic accurrence 
of numerous species belonging to other associations, many of which 
however, do not mature their seeds. 

The wheat grass association is at many points contiguous to groves 
— "-Li^^ streams and to shrubby associations, especially the buck bush 

"•Atriplex canescensus, A. hastata, A. Nuttallii, A philonitra- Chenonofliiim 
album. C. Frtmonti;. 0. glaucum, C. dacoticum, C subslab^um C urati^^^^^^ 

■•«This grass is Distichlis spicata: the cactus. Opuntia frae-ilis- the rr,c^t 
pu?^H^t"%aSimn°rp.t.vmon:;!:'% nf"t^''^" ■ ""^^ Moiolep's ''nfttaHiana. The 
is ehlracter/stic of blow-'^oX ^""^^^^'"^■^ ^« conspicuous and nearly always 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 91 



and sage, and upon the areas of aliuvium, with buffalo-grama or meadow 
grass associations. 

Few birds nest in the wheat grass associations. The relative bar- 
reness of the upland areas and the frequency of flooding of the other 
portions are doubtless major deterrent influences. The sharp-tailed 
grouse, however, is more numerous in 'the flood-plain phase of this asso- 
ciation than elsewhere, possiblv because the taller vegetation affords 
more protection than the upland associations. Each prairie-dog has one 
or more broods of burrowing owls. 

The prairie-dog is the most consjiicuous mammal. In parts of this 
association, notably in Custer and Fall River counties, nearly every low 
terrace along the valleys is occupied along much of its extent by prairie- 
dog towns. The danger of being drowned out by the flood waters is 
greatly decreased by piling up around each hole much of the dirt brought 
up from below. Many entrances are as much as 12 or 15 inches above 
the general level of the "flat." This piling up is not accidental, as is 
shown by the repeated repairing by scraping dirt in from the periphery 
of the mound, and by the fact that in areas not subject to frequent flood- 
ing the detritus brought up from below is scattered widely. The long- 
tailed weasel and the black footed ferret, which prey upon the prairie- 
dog, are numerous, though not often seen. Gophers and other burrowing 
mammals are lacking" in most of the flood-plain areas in the gumbo 
region, probably because of the floods. 

(E) THE m XCH-GKASS OR DRY-SOIL STEPPE ASSOCIATIOX 

The dominant feature of this association is the bunch grass, which 
attains a rather uniform height of about 15 inches. These clumps are 
stiff, sparingly eaten, and are conspicuous throughout the year since they 
are seldom covered by snow for more than a short time. 

This association has two distinct phases, (1) on slopes in rugged 
areas, bluffs along streams and in moraines, where the soil is not clay 
or sand; (2) on relatively pure sand. The latter may be subdivided into 
^a) the more nearly level stretches and (b) the sandhills. The first phase 
occupies but a small total area, but a widespread, being present 
in each of the districts and in most of the sub-districts of the area. The 
second phase is most widespread in middle and western Nebraska where 
sand commonly heaped into dunes is dominant. The area of dunes reaches 
a very short distance into south-central South Dakota. This association 
also is present in some places along valleys where the alluvium is very 
sandy. 

The determining geographic factors in this association appear to be 
a scarcitv of moisture in the surface layers of the soil, and a soil which 
is readily penetrated by roots. Tn areas of sand, although the run-ofC 
is slight, there is normally but little moisture in the ui)per six inches 
or more. This is the result of the active efvaporation which persists until 
the capillary tubes are broken. Consequently vegetation possessing only 
shallow root systems, as does much of that of the buffalo-grama and 
wheat grass associations, is barred. The vegetation of this association 
is characterized by the possession of deeply i)enetrating root systems, in 
many cases with prominent "tap-roots." 

The Spanish bayonet or soap-weed (Fig. 7) is conspicuous, while Mentzelia 
and the pasque flower are numerous on the steeper slopes outside the sandhills.'''' 

The bird most generally nesting in this association is the western 
vesper sparrow. The western field sjiarrow is locally numerous. Several 
mammals, notably the jack rabbit, coyote and badger, often rear their 
young in the rugged areas dominated by bunch-grass. Such areas afford 



39Yucca Klauca; M€>ntzolia nucia and M. rlecapetala; Pul.^atilla hirsutissima. 



92 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



i 



partial protection by their tall vegetation as well as by their relief. 
The rapid run-off of the rainfall is an additional factor in their desirability 
as resorts of these mammals. 

The sandhills*" as seen from a distance are not inviting; they appear 
as a low line of monotonous yellowish hills, or, if one can look down 
from a divide, a complex of irregularly arranged dunes with here and 
there the glimmer of a pond. Only a bright yellow of a patch of freshly 
exposed sand, or the dark green of a marsh filled with vegetation, break 
the monotony. 

It is only when one gets within the dune district, and sees the variety 
of vegetation that the reason for the reputation which sandhill districts 
have among botanists and picknickers, becomes evident. There is a 
striking contrast between the more level, dry clay plains covered with a 
carpet of short "buffalo" grass, and the rough sandhills with their tall 
clumps of bunch grass, many fruiting shrubs, and narrow valleys filled 
with dense thickets through which ripple clear, cold brooks. Though the 
sand is fairly fertile, it is likely to drift badly when cultivated. Pas- 
tures here are in ill repute, because of the tendency of their soil to blow; 
and although there are small meadows, the roads are so heixvy that it does 
not pay to haul hay far. Perhaps it is the impression of irredeemable 
wildness that gives the sandhills part of their attractiveness. 

The many differences between the adjacent grassy plains and the 
sandhills seem to be due almost entirely to the sand. In elevation there 
is no notable difference; it is not likely that there is more precipitation; 
it is readily apparent that the sandhills in general are no cooler. 

The sand, being loose and porous, absorbs at once all rainfall, even 
of a heavy shower. For a short time after a rain, the evaporation is 
very rapid, more rapid than water can be supplied from below by capillary 
action. Consequently the capillary tubes become broken and evaporation 
stops before any considerable percentage of the recent precipitation has 
disappeared. The balance escapes slowly, chiefly from the leaves of the 
vegetation and from the many voluminous springs which supply the 
brooks that drain the region. 

As might be expected, the air temperatures become very high during 
sunny days, especially in the depressions. This superheated air rises 
and joins the general wind which often becomes very drying. The vege- 
tation must either be able to endure rapid evaporation or it must be able 
to resist drying by possessing restrictions against evaporation. Both 
responses are found: The bunch grass (Andropogon), roses, bush-morn- 
ing-glory, sunflower, and sand thistle are examples of the former; the 
cacti, sand cherry, yucca and prairie-pink are conspicuous examples of the 
latter. A number of the characteristic plants have much longer tap roots 
than even closely related species of the areas of harder subsoil; a few, 
including the cacti, bush-morning-glory, and Psoralea lanceolate have 
organs for storage of water. 

The prominent plants are perhaps the following :4i The bunch grass 
is dominant: sand grass, and spear or needle grass are common, both 
growing here in small clumps. Grasses growing between the bunch- 
grasses are hair grass, grama grass, and the sand-burr. The shrubs of 
the sandhills are sand-cherry, choke-cherry, plum dogwood, prairie willow, 
lead plant, buffalo-berry, and the wild rose. Spanish bayonets are 
numerous. 



^opool, R. J.: The ^ eg-etation of the Nebraska Sandhills, 1914, is a volum- 
inous report. For a brief earlier account, see Visher, S S • The plants of 
the S. D. Sandhills, American Botanist. 1914. 

"The technical names of these i)rominent plants are: Andropoeon sco- 
panus, Calamovilfa lonp^ilfa, Stipa Comata, Eragrostis trichodes, Bouteloua 
hirsuta, Cenchrus tribuloides; Prunus Besseyi, P. melanocarpa, P americana. 
< ornus stolonifera. Salix humilis, .\morpha canescens, Leparg-vrea argentea, 
Uosa woodsii. K. ai'kansana. R. suffulta. Yucca glauca 



THE GEOGRAPHY OP SOUTH DAKOTA 93 

The more conspicuous herbs others than grasses are perhaps^^ the 
annual eriogonum, spiderwort, brome rape, AUonia, Abronia, the spurges, 
showy Gilia, green milkweed and three members of the aper family. 
Legumes are numerous: Lupine, prairie clovers and the narrow-leaved 
Psoraleas being most numerous. The more common composites are the 
wormwood, the viscid aster, and FranseHa acanthicarpa. The borders 
of the brooks, often quite gay with flowers, are not truly a part of the 
steppe. 

Most of the animal life of sandy regions is associated with the springs 
and streams. The areas occupied by the typical sandhill vegetation have 
a sparse and not distinctive fauna so far as the larger animals are 
concerned. Of such typical portions, the birds most abundant are the 
western vesper sparrow, lark bunting and the western meadowlark. 
Sandy areas within the prairie region of Sanborn Countv, eastern South 
Dakota form eastern outliers of the breeding range of the prairie sharp- 
tailed grouse. The mammals most frequently seen are the jack rabbit, 
the cottontail, -13 the plains chipmunk and the pocket gopher (Geomys 
lutescens). Because of the relative wildness of rough, sandy areas, they 
form retreats for wide ranging mammals such as wolves and coyotes. Of 
the reptiles, the most abundant snake is the hog-nosed adder. The yellow 
striped swift is plentiful in the more southern sandhills and another lizard 
occurs, as does a land turtle. Several insects are abundant in sandy areas, 
including certain tiger beetles and the ant lion. 

The sandhill area along the southern margin of the state has an 
•exceptionally varied flora and fauna. In addition to species of more 
general distribution, mentioned above, the following are abundant there r** 
Hall's bunch grass, on the ridges; the southern sandburr, the bush morn- 
ing-glory, poison ivy, and dogwood. There are a few trees, especially 
the hackberry, cottonwood, and elm in depressions, or on the more 
stationary north-facing slopes. Among the herbs, the prickly poppy, sand 
thistle, Froelichia campestris and a fourth representative of the Caper 
family, are very conspicuous in season. 

(F-H) THE LOAV SHRUB GROUP OF ASSOCIATIONS 

This group of associations is represented in small areas, mostly by 
narrow bands, in the steppe formation. The buck-bush, is a transition 
stage between grassland and woodland, and the sage brush between 
grassland and desert. Most of the area ordinarily classed as badlands 
belong to the buffalo-grama and the wheat grass associations. However, 
on the steeper slopes, the portion most distinctly "badland," almost the 
only vegetation consistns of various shrubs. 

(F) The buck -bush or wolf berry, (S.ymphoricari)os occiden talis ) , a 
shrub which as a rule is about IG inches tall, forms patches in and ad- 
jacent to groves along valleys throughout the area. It also is found here 
and there on slopes, especially where soil moisture is plentiful, which 
more often is the case on north-facing than on other slopes. Even far 
from woodland, there are patches along flood-plains where the ground 

^The herbs referred to are: Eriosonum annuum, Trade.scantia occidentalis, 
Orobanche ludoviciana, Allionia linearis, A. Nyctas'ina, Abronia micrantha, 
JOuphorbia hexaj?onn, E. Geyeri, Croton texensis, Gilia cephaloidea, Acerates 
vipldflora linearis, Cleome lutea, C. serrulata; Polanisia trachysperma; Lupinus 
pusillus, Kuhnistera ijurpurea, K. villosa, K. alba, Psoralea lanceolata, P. 
tenuiflora; Ambrosia media, A. psilostachya, Macbaerantbera .sessiliflora. 

*^The technical names of other animals mentioned in this parasrai>h are: 
Sylvilasus nuttallii ^i-anseri. l>:utamias imllidius. Canus nubilu.s, C. latran.'s. 
C. n. nebrascensls. Heterodon naslcus, Sceloporus undulatus concobrinus, 
Cnemidophorus gularis, Cistudo ornata; Cincendela scutelaria, C envigata; 
C. vermlsta. 

"Andropogon Hallil, Cenchrus carollnianus, Ipomoea leptophylla, Rhus 
Rydberg-ii, Cornus stolonifera riparia. Celtis occidentalis. Populus Sargentii, 
Ulmus americana, Argemone intermedia, Carduus plattensis, Cristatella Jamesii. 



94 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



water is within reach. The buck-bush patches, many of which have a 
diameter of several rods, have where dense, little value for pasturage 
and almost none for fodder. They are cut by the mower with difficulty, 
nor are they killed readily by plow or fire. Wild roses are common 
secondary species in these patches. The chief grasses, in most places 
very subordinate in imiiortance, are blue-joint (Amlropogon furcatus), and 
wild rye (Elymiis canadensis.) 

There are no large animals restricted to these patches though there 
are many nests of birds. In the steppe region, the prairie sharp-tailed 
grouse, long-billed curlew, upland plover, marsh and Swainson hawks 
and other large birds, as well as western meadow-larks and Brewer black- 
birds often nest here. Cottontail rabbits and gophers (Citellus tridecem- 
lincatus, d Franklini), and the large field mice (Microtus ochrogaster) 
are at home here. Spiders are especially abundant. 

(G) The true .sage brush (ArtemisLa tridentata) is represented very 
locally in South Dakota or North Dakota on silt along the lower terraces 
of some of the streams of the western part of the states, notably along 
the Little Missouri River, Sage Creek in Pennington County, and Indian 
Creek in Fall River County. It is somewhat more widespread in north- 
western Nebraska. In these states it is a low shrub attaining less than 
half the height prevalent in more arid regions to the west. However, 
the number of individuals per square rod in many places is greater than 
farther west. 

The lance-leaved sage (Artemisia longifolia, A, filifolia) is more wide- 
spread and is here a taller shrub, reaching a height of two or even two 
and a half feet. In the western third of the state it occupies silty soil 
chiefly on terraces. 

The vegetation between the clumps of sage in many places is dom- 
inated by patches of buffalo grass. Upon soil which is almost bare, the 
curious foliations lichen I'arnielia MoUinscuIa is abundant in many places. 
Clumps of prickly pear cactus are conspicuous. 

The most conspicuous bird characteristic of the sage-brush of this 
state is the sage hen, which was numerous here until a few years ago. 
It is being exterminated rapidly. 

The most notable insect is the large black and white sage-moth, 
which is very conspicuous for a few days in July or August. The larvae 
feed upon sage leaves. 

(H) BADLANDS 

Badlands are developed in many places on clap in the Great Plains; 
those in the south-central part of the state and in Harding County in the 
northwestern corner are especially extensive. Large sections of these 
badland areas are comparatively barren. Still larger portions are nearly 
level and grass covered. (Fig. 5.) The latter are discussed under the 
wheat grass and buffalo-grass associations. 

(a) Conditions. In regard to precipitation, these areas fare about 
the same as does the rest of the steppe. Their average temperature is 
probably greater because of many slopes and the partial protection from 
the wind. The whitish clay reflects the sunlight, resulting in a 
great intensity of light at times. During other hours of the day, a given 
spot may be in the shade. Shade can always be found along the arroyas 
and behind steep-sided buttes. The rapidity of erosion in badlands, and 
the tendency for the clay to crumble and crack, are two factors apparently 
very important in controlling the vegetation. Another perhaps even more 
important factor is the inability of the materials to absorb or hold water. 
In the White River Bad Lands there are some sandhills, and some of the 
nearby badland buttes are capped with sand. Erosion is evidently as 
rapid on such buttes as elsewhere, but a rank vegetation flourishes, 
apparently because of the water absorbed in the sand. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 95 

(b) Cliaracteristic plants and animals of the badlands. In the more 
rugged badland areas ( Fig. 1 2 ) vegetation is scanty. Such as there is, 
is mainly shrubby and possesses long ta]) roots. Various shrubbv com- 
posites are especially conspicuous, especially the rabbit bush, Gutierreizia 
Sarothrae, G. Divaricata; blue-aster; golden-aster; false bone-set; and 
several species of sage. Other plants are the gumbo-lily; Mentzelia; Salt 
bush; prickly pear; grease weed; and locally, Chenopodiuni watsonii. 
At the foot of the buttes, two annuals, the showy spurge, and thistle- 
tomato, frequently are found. Along the channels, the buffalo-berry forms 
many large thickets, and on the more shaded side of many buttes, clumps 
of western red cedar may furnish many good fence posts. 4'« 

The badlands, because of their relative inaccessibility, are the home of 
several carnivores. Gray wolves and coyotes are more frequently met 
here than elsewhere. Bobcats^f! are ])lentiful. The puma or mountain 
lion was formerly not rare. A few antelope still feed on some of the 
"flats." Bighorn sheep, and mule deer formerly were common and the 
bighorn may not yet be extinct in the White River Bad Lands. The 
mammals now most frequently seen in badlands are the striped chip- 
munk and gray rabbit. The chief birds are the rock wren. Say's 
phoebe. cliff swallow, violet green swallow, western lark sparrow, turkey 
buzzard, and prairie falcon. Rattlesnakes are not lacking, though far 
from common. The horned lizards f "toads") are seen occasionally. 

(c) The badland life displays several peculiarities. The plants 
are mainly long-lived perennials, chiefly shrubby composites, and possess 
powerful tap and anchor roots and narrow and pubescent leaves. Such 
shrubs offer great resistance to erosion, undercutting, and slumping. 
Thev also are conservative, late-flowering, and present to cattle very little 
edible material. Nearlv every species has yellow flowers. In addition 
to these perennials, there are various annuals which thrive during wet 
years on the moister alluvial flats. 

The animals are grayish in color with the excention of the bats, 
swallows and swifts. The crevices and cavelets furnish homes for the 
chinmunk, bat. bobcat. Sav's phoebe. pra'rie falcon, and rock wren. The 
cliff swallow and white-throated swift find cliffs suitable for nesting sites. 
Several of the larger mammals, notably the bighorn sheep and mule or 
black-tailed deer, are powerful jumpers. 

II. THE .PR.\IRIES OR F.ATRI.V l^fOTST GRASS-COVERED PIi.\IXS 

1 . T>i«tribut?on 

The eastern third of South Dakota (Fig. 29) is ofcunied chieflv bv 
a single association, chara'^terized. as f^r as the vegetation is concerned, 
by fairly short erasses which almost comnletely oov^r the (ground, eiving 
a firm turf, and by the wide-spread absence of native treee or bunch- 
grasses. 

2. Conditions 

The moisture coufiiticns are less severe t^an unon the stenne. There 
Is more precipitation and its seasonal distribution and regularity is more 



**The sciPntific names of the above badland plants are: Chrvsotbarmus 
Braveolens; Senecia canus; Town.sendia pradiflora: Chrysopsis hirsutissima: 
Kuhnia plutinosa: Artemisia flllfolia, A. lonprifolia. A. "frislda; Pachylophus 
caespitosus, P. macroerlottis. P. montanus; Mentzelia decapetala. M. nuda, 
M. stricta; A triplex Nuttallii, A. Suckley'ana, A. arprentea; Opuntia fraprilis; 
Sarcobatus vermiculatus: Kuphorbia marpinata; Solanum rostratum; Lopar- 
grea CShepherdia) arprentea; Juniperus scopulorum. .T. .sabina. 

"The followiner are the technical names of the remaining- badland inam- 
mal.s anl reptiles nr^ntioned: T>ynx rufiis. Felis concolor Antelocatira amerl- 
cana. Ovls canadensis niidoboni: Odocolleus h. bemionus, Futamias pallidus, 
Crotalus confluentus; Pbrynosoma dousLissii bermaudesi. A common bat is 
Myotis californlcus ciliohriim. 



96 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

favorable. (See the discussion of Bio-geographic district I, p. .) 

In regard to temperature and windiness there are no marked differences 
between the two districts. The prairie has less sunshine than the steppe, 
the relative humidity is higher, and the rate of evaporation less rapid. 
The soil, a glacial clay-loam, is fairly uniform over wide areas. 

There are two phases, distinguished, so far as the plants are con- 
cerned, chiefly by the manner of growth. On the low prairies, which 
receive, in addition to the normal rainfall, run-off from the high prairies 
and, are thererfore more moist (mesophytic) as well as nearer to the 
ground-water level, there is a taller, more luxuriant, and denser growth, 
of vegetation than upon the well-drained uplands. 

3. DOMINANT PLANTS AND ANIMALS OF THE PRAIRIE 

(a) Plants. The grasses are mostly turf-formers having, with a 
few e«ceptions, an average height at maturity of a foot or more, with 
over half of their bulk more than six inches from the sod. The dominant 
grasses are+' species of Koeleria, Spcrobolus, Eatonia, and Panicum, with 
red-top, false red-top, screw grass and blue-joint abundant in wide areas. 
There' are several secondarv species.^'' TVte chief herbs a^'e^f the prairie- 
clovers, golden-rods, vervains, asters, blazing-stirs and Indian turnips. 

There are several distinct seasonal aspects in the vegetation ■"'> The 
prevernal is characterized chiefly'''^ by Poucedan^nn, the pasoue flower and 
the Indian tobacco: the vernal byS2 thp buffilo-b'^an, wh'te anemone, 
pentstemon, violets and manv others;-"'^ the aestival aspect by the lead 
plant, vervains, pine-anple flowers, b'ack-eyed susans,''* and others:"' the 
serotinal stage bv prairie clovers a»id blizings-stars,'"'" and certain 
grasses',"' and the autuminal stage chiefly by goldenrods, asters and sun- 
flowers."''? 

There are two shrubs, low and relatively insignificant, which are 
widespread, the prairie rose,''-' and the lead plant or "shoe-string." 

■'"Koeleria cristata: Sporobolus asper, S. crystandrus, S. heterolepus; 
Katonia obtusata; Panicum Scriberianum, P. capillare, A. argrostis alba; Poa 
triflora; Scbedonnardus paniculalus, Andropogon furcatus, A. scoparius. 

'•"Agrostis liyemalis: Poa neinoralis, P. compressa, P. pratensis. 

•"'Petalo.stomon (Kuhnistera) purpureuin, P. candidum: Solidago mis- 
souricHcis, S. rigida, S. hemoralis; Verbena stricta, V. bracteosa; Aster seri- 
ceu.s, .\. multiflorus, A. commutatis, Liatris punctata, L. scariosa; L. sjjicata; 
P. soralea argophylla, P. esculenta. 

^"Harvey L. R.: Floral Succession in the Prairie-grass Formation of S. 
E. South Dakota Bot. Gaz. XLIV, pp. 81-108, and 277-320, 1908. 

"Peucedanum nudicaule, P. foeniculeum; Pulsatilla patens; Antennaria 
campestrig, A. neodiocia; Draba micrantha. 

^=Speisia (Argallus) Lambertii, S. sericea; Astragalus crassicarpus, A. 
plattensis, A. hypoglottis; Anemone carolinana, A. cvlindrica; Pentstemon 
gracilis, P. grandiflorus, P. albidus; Viola pedatifida, V. Nuttallii. 

'^Oxalis violacea, O. stricta; Lithospermum eanescens, L. angustlfolum; 
Sisynnchium angustifolum; Castilleja sessiliflora; Carex media, C festucacea; 
Meriolix serrulata; Hedeoma hispida; Polygala alba; Vicia linearis; Senecio 
plattensis; Onosmodium molle; Poa pratensis, P. compressa. 

"Amorpha eanescens; Verbena stricta, V. obtusata; Ratibida columnaris; 
Brauneria pallida. 

"^•Koeleria cristata; Festuca octoflora, Panicum Scriberianum; Erigeron 
ramosus; Potentilla hippiana; Delphinium carolinianum; Allonia linearis; Acer- 
ates vindiflora linearis; Physalis heterphylla; Petalostemon purpureum, P. 
canididum. 

^'Liatris (Lacinaria) squarrosa, L. punctata, L. scariola; Carduus undu- 
latus; Hymenopapinis filifolius. 

^'"Boiitrloa oligostachys, B. hirsuta, B. curipendula; Agropyron occidentale; 
CalamovUfa longifolia. 

/".Solidago rigidn. S. rigiduscula. S. missouriensis. S. nemoralis. Aster 
sericeus, A^ oblongifolius, A. multiflorus; Helianthus scalrerrimus, H. Mexi- 
miUanus. H. petioians; also Andropogon furcatus, A. scoparius; Sporofolus 
brevifol'us; Artemisia gnaphaloides; Kuhnia glutinosa, K. eupatoroides; 
Aabalus asper; Dysodia papnosa: Grindelia squarrosa 

•"Rosa pratincola, R. Arkansana. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 97 

(Amorphia canesceiis.) The buck bush/'" (p ) forms patches on 

some hill-sides. 

(b) Birds. The chief birds of the prairies are the prairie homed 
lark, prairie chicken, western meadowlark, grasshopper sparrow, western 
vesper sparrow, chestnut-collared longspur, upland plover, Bennett's 
nighthawk, burrowing owl, and Swainson's hawk. 

(c) MammaLs. The more notable mammals are«i the eastern 
spermaphile badger, skunk, jack rabbit, weasel, pocket gopher, and for- 
merly the bison and pronghorn antelope. Meadow mice'''^ are abundant, 
especially in grain fields. Moles are found in some of the lawns of the 
eastern edge of the state. 

(d) Reptiles. There are two fairly common snakes, the bull snake, 
(Pityophis catenifer sayj ) and the blue racer, (Basconion constrict'>r 
flaviveiitris.) Formerly the prairie rattler was found occasionally. 

(e) (Other animals.) The only amphibian seen frequently in the 
prairie association is the common toad (Bufo americana.) There is a 
much greater variety of invertebrates than in the steppe. One land snail 
(Succinea sros^enari), is fairly abundant. 

(4) SOME CHARACTERISTiaS OF THE PRAIRIE BIOTA 

The denser turf and taller vegetation and the less marked specializa- 
tion of root system, as contrasted with the vegetation of the steppe, appear 
to be associated with the less arid conditions. Nearly a third of the 
species are composites, 1-5 grasses, 1-8 legumes, the remaining belong 
to many families. About 96 9'r are herbs or grasses, 20% wind pollinated. 
Among the animals the specialization is chiefly similar to that possessed 
to animals of the steppe, but is not so extreme. 

III. THE >IEAI)OW OR TALL (iRASS FORMATION 

(1) Distribution. Areas dominated by a close growth of tall grasses 
are found in all districts of the state, but are distinctly more numerous 
and extensive in the less arid sections. The flood-plains of the eastern 
third of the state are occupied throughout much of their extent by one 
of these associations; another, lives in many places in grassy ravines 
or draws, especially in the eastern third of the state and in the higher 
parts of the Black Hills, while a third occupies the low meadows bordering 
bodies of water. 

The most obvious characteristic of this formation is a turf composed 
of tall grasses or of tall grasses and coarse herbs and, locally, low shrubs. 
Instead of a large percentage of the vegetation being found within a few 
inches of the ground, or in small patches or clumps, as in the case in the 
other grass formations of the state, the grass in this formation grows 
rankly to a height, commonly of more than three feet, and occasionally 
to nearly or quite twice that height. 

(2) Conditions. The geographic condition seemingly favorable for 
this association is the proxmity of the ground water at all times. 

( ;'> ) Dominant Plants and Animals of Meadows 

(a) I'lants. Along the flood-plains the dominant plants are'-'' the 
wild rye, panic, wheat, brome and blue-joint grasses. Coarse herbs are 

■■"Pymnhorocai-iius racemosus, S. orbicul'itus. S. occidertalis. 

•■iftelliis t. fridecenilineatus: Taxirlea t. taxus: Mephistis hudsonica; 
SpilotraU- irtcrrunta: Ijpnu.s c. campestris; Mustella longicauda; Geomys bur- 
.sariii.s; Thomomys t. talpoides 

'-K'cotomy.s sr-^tiTipri loringi; Microtus p. pennsylvanicus, M. ochrogaster; 
rorenmyscus m^nir-ulatus. 

'■■■'Rlymus canadeir-is. E. Ftriatus. l•^ \iitrinicus: Panicum virpratum; Agro- 
pyron tenerum, A. violaceum; rJrornus ciliatus; AndropoKon furcatus. 

Sig.— 7. 



98 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

in evidence. Examples are^i the milkweed, showy spurge (snow-on-the- 
mountain), beard tongue, cinquefoil, golden-rods, and certain sunflowers. 
Patches of buck-bush and wild roses are common and furnish shade in 
which tree seedlings start. 

In the moist grassy ravines or "draws" blue-joint ( Calaog,'rostLs 
oanatlensis) or blue-stem (An(h"opoaon furcatus) is dominant, with tickle 
(Agrostis hymalis) and panic (l*anicuin Scribnerianum) grasses common. 
Along running water or en boggy soil the slough or cord grass (Spar- 
tina cjiiosuroides ) is predominant. 

The vegetation of the low meadows grades into that of the marsh. 
The slough grass (Spartina), wheat grass (Agropyron), in some local- 
ities incorrectly called salt grass, and blue-stem (Andropogon) are most 
conspicuous. Sedges ( Carex, Cyperus, Scirpus) dominate in some places. 

(b) Birds. The marsh hawk, bobolink, dickcissel, short-eared 
owl, and, in a certain sedge (Carex sp ) the short-billed marsh wren 
are the chief birds nesting in meadows in this state. In the western 
part of thei state the long-billed curlew and the western grasshopper 
sparrow, and in the northwestern corneir the Baird's sparrow nest most 
frequently in the tall grass of the moist draws. 

(c) Other Animals. These areas are so limited in extent in this 
state that perhaps no vertebrates are restricted to them. However, 
various meadow mice (Micotus, Evotomys, Perognathus) are most abun- 
dant and jack rabbits (Lepus c. cainpestris) and cotton tails (Sylvi- 
lagus floridanus similis, S. nuttalii grangeri) more frequently have their 
nests in draws than on the more exposed upland. Burrowing animals 
are rare in the moister portions of the meadow, doubtless because of 
the proximity of ground-water and the consequent likelihood of flood- 
ing. 

( 4 ) The life and the environment. Most plants possess roots appar- 
ently able to penetrate to the water-table. The rank growth of veg- 
etation reflects favorable conditions. Several birds nesting in the 
meadows are of large size such as the marsh hawk, short-eared owl, 
and grouse. The rank vegetation affords protection for their nests, 
such as could not be found elsewhere in this region. 

IV. THE WOODLAXD. 
( A ) In General. 

1 Distribution of Wooded Areas. 

Woods are found (a) along flood-plains, (b) in ravines and gulches, 
(c) on certain steep slopes or bluffs, (d) on the upland in the Black 
Hills and certain buttes. 

Little of South Dakota is forested. It is estimated that there 
is about 2, .500 square miles of national forest, of which more than 
2,000 is in the Black Hills. In addition, there are some 600 square 
miles of planted wood-lots and wind breaks. A fairly heavy stand 
of timber is found in the Black Hills and in parts of the Sioux For- 
est Reserve in Harding County (Slim Buttes, Cave Hills and the Short 
Pine Hills). There also are extensive groves of large trees in the 
lower sections of the Missouri flood-plain. Smaller groves of smaller 
trees are found in the flood-plains of many other streams. Even in the 
Great Plains there are some trees along the permanent streams. There 
are some trees in many of the steeper ravines, especially those that 
slope north. Few tree species are native on the uplands; the pine 
(Pinus sc opuloruni ) in the Black Hills and the burr oak (Quercus macro- 
mo ,.l*,^a^t^®^*?-? ?ya'i'?"a. A. speciosia, A. syriaca. A. vprticellata: Euphorbia 
^n«o^i^^ 'o ^-/i ''^^^"- • i^®"*^*®'""" Rrandiflorus; Potentllla pennsylvanica; P. 
ansenna; Solidago nsula; Helianthus annuus 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 99 

capra) in Gregory and Tripp counties and along the lower Sioux val- 
ley being chief. 

The native forest trees of the state are of two types (1) deciduous, 
mostly restricted to valleys, and (2) coniferous, widespread topographi- 
cally, but not dominant in the valleys, except locally at high eleva- 
tions in the Black Hills. 

2 The Ceographio Conditions 

The general climatic conditions of the woodland areas differ only 
in degree from those of the general area. Thei temperatures are some- 
what less extreme and probably average lower; the precipitation is 
probably not greater, though because' of greater absorption, it is more 
effective; the interior of the woods is much less windy than the open. 

Most, if not all, of the deciduous trees of the state have roots 
which penetrate to the level of permanent ground-water. The more- 
hardy trees such as the green ash and the western Cottonwood are 
celebrated for their deep tap-roots. The trees shade the ground and 
the lower vegetation, locally making the light and temperature condi- 
tions at least periodically very different from those prevailing in the 
open. The trees and under-brush check the winds, and in so doing 
decrease the rate of evaporation. The aborescent vegetation furnishes 
nesting sites for birds as well as food for many insects and other 
animals. 

3 Dominant Plants and Animals. 

(a) Plants. The chief trees are (1) the western yellow pine 
(P. scopuloram ) , the most important lumber tree of the Black Hills 
and of the forested buttes of Harding County. It is represented along 
Pine Ridge as far east as the 101st meridian, (2) The western red 
cedar (Juniperus scopulorum ) is found sparingly on the Missouri River 
bluffs, and more abundantly on the buttes, especially in the badlands, 
and in the Black Hills. Probably hundreds of thousands of fence 
posts have been cut from "cedar brakes" in the western half of the 
state. (3) The western Cottonwood (Populus Sargentii) is widespread 
along flood-plains. It has been used chiefly for fire^-wood. (4) The 
green ash (Fraxinii-s lanoeolata), forms many groves in the flood- 
plains of the eastern third of the state, and also about the forested 
buttes. It is valued for posts. (5) The boxelder (Acer negundo), hack- 
berry (Celtis occidentalis), elm (Ulmu.s americana, U. fulva) and peach- 
leaved and black willows (Salix aniydaloides, S. nigra) are fairly wide- 
spread but of much less importance than the trees mentioned above. 
The burr oak ( qniacrocarpa ) is of minor importance except in Gregory 
and Tripp counties. 

The large shrubs include the wild plum (Prunus americana, choke- 
cherry (P. nielanocarpa), June or service-berry (Amelanchier alniforlia,, 
A. spicata), hawthorn (Crataegus macrooantha, O mollis, C. Sheridana)^ 
and in certain sections the sumac (Rhus glabra), black haw (Viburnum: 
lentago), and the skunk-bush (Rhus trilobata. Among the more abun- 
dantly represented lower shrubs are the buck-bush (Symphorocarpus race^ 
mosa, S. occidentalis), wild rofee (Rosa woodsi, R. Fendlcriana), west- 
ern poison ivy (Rhus rydbergi) and various wild currents and goose- 
berries. 

The chief lianes (climbers), are the wild grape (V'itis vulpina), 
woodbine ( Parthcnicissus vitacca) and bittersweet (Celastris scandens). 

There are many herbs. The more abundant grasses are the wil.l 
rye (Elymus), blue-joint (Andropogon) and blue grass (Poa), and 
others of the meadows along flood-plains, mentioned above. Other con- 
spicuous and widespread herbs include the horse mint (Monarda fistulosa. 



100 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

M. mollis, M. meiithaefolia), cow parsnip (Heracleum lanatum), false 
soloman-seal (Smiliciiia stellata), carrion flower (Smilax hispida), 
twisted-stalk ( Stieptipus amplexifolius ) , thistles (Caiduus fllipendulus, 
C. vii-ginianuni ) , golden-rods (Solidago arguta, S. canadensis, S. sero- 
tina, S. pitcheii), and violots (Viola canadensis, V. cuculata, V. pubescens, 
V, scarbriuscula). In the more deeply shaded woods, especially in 
ravines, numerous additional genera and species are represented. 

(b) Birds. There is a considerable variety of bird life in the 
woods, including in most of the state, the western mourning dove, bob- 
white, hairy woodpecker, northern and Batchelder's downy and red- 
headed woodpeckers, common and redshafted flickers, screech owl, spar- 
row hawk, crow, blue jay, bronzed grackle, eastern and Arkansas king- 
birds, alder flycatcher, common and arctic towhees, goldfinch, rose- 
breasted grosbeak, black-headed grosbeak or western blue grosbeak, 
western chipping sparrow and . western lark sparrow, white-rumped 
shrike, yellow warbler, yellow-breasted and long-tailed chats, warbling 
vireos (V. g. gilva, V. g. swainsoni), western housei wren, catbird, brown 
thrasher. In the western part of the state there are several mountain 
birds. Those especially conspicuous are the magpie, pinon jay and 
Canada jay, and the western robin. 

(c) Mammals. Formerly, the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virgin- 
ianus macrourus), puma, and* black bear were abundant in all wooded 
areas. The first is extinct except in the Black Hills and the Sioux 
Forest Reserve, while the others are to be found in the Black Hills, 
if anywhere in the state. The wood rabbit (Sylvvilagus floridanus siniilis, 
S, auduboni baileyi), a variety of cottontail, white-footed mouse (Onycho- 
mys 1. leucogiister) and other mice, gray gopher (Citellus Franklini), 
and certain bats (Myotis 1. lucilig'us, Eptesicus f. fuscus, Xycteris 1. bore- 
alis), are the more numerous mammals found in all woods, but the 
porcupine (Erethizon e cpicanthum, E. d. dorsatiim) and chipmunk 
(Eutamias m. minimus, E. pallidus) are plentiful in the western half 
of the state and bob-cats (Lynx c. canadensis, L. r. rufus), and raccoons 
(Procyon 1. lotor) are not rare. The fox squirrel (rufiventer) is fairly 
abundant in the southeastern corner of the state, and the Dakota red 
squirrel (Hiidsonicus dakotensis) in the Black Hills. 

(d) Other animals. There appear to be no snakes characteristic 
of South Dakota woods. The lizard known as the swift (Sceloporus) is 
seen occasionally in the southeastern quarter. Tree frogs (Acris gryl- 
lus) are rare in the state, but not absent. The American toad (Bufo 
ameiac^nus ) is somewhat common. Seven genera of land snails«« are 
recorded from the woods of the state by Wm. H. Over of the State 
Survey, who kindly supplied most of the data on mollusca given in 
this chapter. 

(4) Some Cliaracteristics of the Life of the Woods. Most of the 
plants have a deeply penetrating root system. This is probably due 
to the porous alluvial soil and the fact that the water table is within 
relatively easy reach. Trees exposed to the persistent winds develop 
strong anchor roots. Because of the generally low relative humidity, 
the leaves of most trees are small, and the bark of the trunk and 
limbs thick. The local conifers are extreme examples. The tree with 
the largest leaves (basswood, Tilia americana) is restricted to the 
more shady ravines in the most moist area, the extreme southeastern 
corner. Most of the shrubs and herbs also have small leaves, or other 
methods of retarding evaporation. Many species yield berries and 

"^•Dicentra cucularia; Trilluum erectum: Arisaema triphylum etc 
•"In groves along streams, Pyramidula cronkhiti anthonvl'. P.' alternata, 
Vitrina alaskana, Cochlcona lubrica: In ravines. Bifldaria armlfera Euconulus 
fulvus; In pine woods. Oreolielix cooper!. Euconulus fulvus 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 101 

rely upon animals for seed dissemination. «" Some of the trees, notably 
the Cottonwood, willow, ash and boxelder, which grow in the more 
exposed situations, depend upon the wind to carry their seed. 

Most of the birds nest in trees. Many are sociable in their hab- 
its, at least in certain seasons. Several species nest in loose colonies. 
Most common species are highly migratory, apparently a response to 
the hard winters; but during the winter several species, in most cases 
migrants from the north, usually can be found in the woods. The 
western tree sparrow, long-tailed chickadee, redpoll, siskin and Bo- 
hemian waxwing, are locally common in winter. Various other charac- 
teristics of woodland birds have been mentioned or contrast in thei dis- 
cussion of the birds of the steppe. About one-fourth of the mam- 
mals of woods are somewhat arboreal, about one third rear their young 
on the ground, and about two-thirds spend most of the time on the 
ground, while about 4 per cent have burrows in which the young 
are reared. However, only about six per cent spend most of their 
adult lives underground. ''■« 

(B) GROVES ALONG FLOOD-PLAINS 

As previously noted, there are many groves in the flood-plains of 
the eastern third of the state, and a few smaller ones along the per- 
manent streams even in the most arid section. Since flood-plains re- 
ceive the run-off from the other wooded areas, it is natural that the 
other wooded flora should be more varied than in any other associa- 
tions. In addition to the species mentioned as of general distribution 
in woodlands, there are sporadic representatives of conifers, oak, sumac, 
and many herbs and other species more common on bluffs and in 
ravines. 

(C) RAVINE AND GULCH WOODLAND 

This, the most humid (mesophytic) association of the state, is 
represented most extensively in the valleys of the shorter tributaries 
of the Missouri, Sioux and Minnesota rivers, in ravines on the side of 
Wessington Hills in Jerauld County and the Pine Ridge in the south- 
central port of the state. The hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) and iron- 
wood (Ostrya virf»iiiiana) are fairly common, and in the southeastern 
corner the basswood and Kentucky coffee-tree ( Gynuiocladus dioica) are 
present. The dogwood (Coraus stolonifei'a ) , hawthorn (Crataegus mol- 
lis, C. macrocantha, C. Sheridana) and hawthorne (Vibuniiini lentago) are 
more abundant than in the flood-plain woods. Grasses are less im- 
portant. Prominent herbs in addition are the wild licorice or loose- 
strife (Steironenia ciliatuni), the nettle (Urtica gracili.s), alum-root 
(Heuchera hispida, H. valifolia), snakei root (Sanicula Marylandica, S. 
condensis), beggars' tick (Washingtonia longistylis), and bedstraw (Gal- 
ium triflorum). T.winers are Smilax hispida, Clematis occidentalis and 
hop (Humulus lupulus). Dutchman's breechers (Dicentra cucuUaria), 
jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphylum), columbine (Aquilegia canaden- 
sis), Trillium erectum and many other plants common in the woods 
to the east of South Dakota are represented in the woods of the south- 
eastern and northeastern corners of the state. 

The birds in addition to those common in woodlands, which nests 
most commonly in wooded ravines is the oven-bird. Many warblers 
stop in such areas during their migration. It is not known that there 
are any mammals peculiar to this association. 

The copses found near the heads of various north-facing ravines 
are a special phase of the ravine woodland. Their location is deter- 



"■'Conspicuously species of Prunus, Rhus and Crataegus. 

""Shelford, V. E.: Principles and Problems of Animal Geography (Mss.) 



102 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

mined by the presence of a spring, or at least of seepage. Plums 
(I*i'umis americana ) , chokechorry (P. melanocrapa), ash (E. lanceolala), 
Juneberry (Amelanchier abiifolia), and hawthorn (Crataegus sheiidana) 
are the more common trees and shrubs, the horsemint (Monanla men- 
tha<rfolia, M. flstulata) the most conspicuous herb, and the Arctic 
towheie the most common bird. 

(D) WOODS ON BLUFFS 

In the southern part of Gregory and Tripp counties, and on por- 
tions of the bluffs of the Missouri in Clay and Union counties, and of 
the Sioux in Union and Lincoln counties there are scattered clumps 
of burr oak (Quercus macrocarpa ) and sumac (Rhus glabra) with 
patches of buck-bush (Symi>horocarpus racemosa) here and there. The 
chief grasses are bunch grasses (Andropogon, Aristida). The western 
field sparrow nests commonly in this association. 

(E) PINE FORESTS 

There are about 1,400,000 acres of forest reserve in South Dakota, 
approximately 100,000 acres in Harding County, and the rest in the 
Black Hills. In the Black Hills there are tens of thousands of acres 
fairly well-timbered but not in the federal reserve. The geographic 
ronr^itions in these forests have been treated in the discussion of the 
Black Hills bio-geographic district and in the chapters on physiography 
and climate. The chief commercial tree in the reserves is the Rocky 
Mountain pine (Pinus [i>oiideroi?a] scoDulorum ) . Tlie red cedar (Juni- 
perus scopulorum) is important at lower elevations, and the white 
spruce (Picea alba) near the summits of the Black Hills. Ash (P lanceo- 
liita) and other trees (Elrr, hackberry) valuable for fence posts, are 
found in the valleys at low elevations. 

In addition to the pine, cedar, s])ruce and ash there are elms 
(Ulnius fulva, V Amencana), birches (Betula papyrifera, B. foutinalis, 
B. glandulosa), poplars of several sorts, including the Cottonwood (Pop- 
ulus loccidentalis] sargenti), quaking aspen (P. tremuloides) . and 
narrow-leaved poplar (P. aiigustifolia) , and other trees and shrubs, 
making a total of about 120 species of woody plants, renresenting 
about 30 families. Of these Fome 3 7 speeies are trees and 7 4 species 
shrubs. The herbaceous flora is verv rich.^^ 

Among the more common birds are the Lewis woodpecker, western 
woodpewee. white-winged junco. pinion jay, western tanas-er. cedar wax- 
wing, Audubon warbler, western house wren, long-tailed chickadee, 
western robin, and mountain bluebird. 

The chief larger mammals are the chipmunk (Eutamfas m. min" 
imu.s), Dakota red squirrel (Sriurus hiidsonius daootensis). wood-chuck 
(Marmota dacota), wood rabbit (Sylvilagus nudnbonii bailevi). white- 
tailed deer (Odociolcus anieiioanus macrouris O texanus), bobcat (Lynx 
o. canadensis, L. r. rufus) and pocket gopher (Thiniomys talnoides nebu- 
lesus). The rentiles are the green garter snakes. ' Amphibians are 
salamander (Amblystoma tigrium) and a species of frcg 



IIT isqfi^ ffi^^--^fi ■vi<=r'''^\°l ^^'f.F^^'^ "*"«■ Contrib. U. S. Natl. Herb. 
rLrevrW ^^i'f n^ h7\i^ aV ^'*^<^'tions to the Flora of the Black Hills: 
1913 pp Vi sl 186-188, Muhlenbergria VIII, 1912, pp. 135-137. ibid IX, 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 103 

V. THE AQl'ATir AXI) SEMI-AQUATIC (JUOIP OF ASSOCIATIONS 

( A ) In (iencral 
1 Distribution 

The official estimate of the area permanently covered by water 
in South Dakota is but 747 square miles. This includes the major 
rivers of the state, together with the larger streams in the Black Hills, 
and the larger lakes mentioned in the chapter on physiography. It 
is likely that at least ten times that area commonly or frequently is 
submerged. Thousands of small lakes go dry but seldom, and many 
"lake beds" contain standing water occasionally. The streams of the 
state are liable to overflow their banks, and as a result there are 
considerable tracts which are somewhat aquatic in character. The 
major aquatic areas are on the eastern Choteau (p. — ). During 
wet years there are numerous marshy or submerged tracts in the rest 
of the glaciated part of the state ( P^ig. 2), and also in the Great Plains 
where there are "blow-outs." 

The members of this group of associations are (1) marshes, (2) 
ponds, (3) lakes, (4) streams (a) brooks, (b) creeks, (c) rivers. 

2 Geojp-aphic Conditions 

The presence, in areas permanently submerged, of an abundance 
of water produces a sharp contrast between such areas and the upland 
parts of the state. Not only is there sufficient moisture, but other 
conditions are greatly modified. In portions which do not freeze, the 
annual range of temperature is no more than 30° or 40° F. instead 
of at least 12 0°, a range experienced by most places exposed to the 
air. In bodies of water which freeze over, the range in most places 
is much less than that experienced on the land. The daily range of 
temperature in submerged and even boggy areas is verv much less 
than occurs elsewhere in this region. The light conditions are very 
different also. However, the shallowness of most bodies of water per- 
mits of the penetration of diffused light to the bottoms of nearly all, 
if not all lakes in the state. Marsh plants and other species which reach 
up into the air, and such animals as emerge from the water are 
affected by wind and sun, and suffer loss of moisture, and are battered 
about by the winds. 

The soil conditions in many submerged areas are similar, as a 
soft alluvial or lacustrine silt is general. Coarser materials, espe- 
cially cobbles and pebbles have associated with them quite different 
animals and plants than "muddy" areas. 

3 The Dominant Plants and Animals 

Relatively few species are found in all sorts of water bodies, 
although many are widelv distributed. Examples are certain algae, 
pondweed (Potomogeton) , duckweed (Lemna), water buttercuj) (Batra- 
chium trichophyllum), milfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum), several sand- 
pipers (the spotted, solitary, yellowlegs, and Baird sandpipers, Wilson's 
phalarope and killdeer), the muskrat (Fiber ziberthicus cinnamoninus), 
snails,"" numerous insects such as the water boatman, water striders 
(Gerridae) dragon flies (Aeschnidae Libellulidae) and others, leeches 
and protozoa. -Manv plants and animals less generally distributed will 
be noted below under the appropriate heads. Here it may properly 
be remarked that the submerged flora, microscopic forms excepted, is 

■"Lymnaea i)alustris, I.,. car)eiata, I... olnni.s.sa, Phvsa svrina, I'lanorbi.s 
trivolvus, P. parvu.«. 



104 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

poor in species, while that on the near-by wet ground is very rich; 
that only two or three species of mammals spend much of their time 
In the water, and that no bird does so. The most aquat'c birds merely 
dive occasionally; none can hatch their eggs except in relatively, al- 
though in some cases not entirely, dry nests. The turtles of the state 
are aauatic (except a box turtle in the sandhills of Bennett County) 
and the young amphibians also, although the toads leave the water 
soon after hatching, and the frogs spend most of their lives on land. 
The invertebrate fauna is far richer than that of any other formation 
in the state but it has not been studied in detail yet. 

4 Characteristics of Aquatic life 

Aquatic plants and animals have striking characteristics. 

The plants are chieflfly semi-aquatic grasses and herbs, most of 
which are biennials or short-lived perennials. Very few are annuals. 
Ordinarily there is an abundance of available water, and transpiration 
can be freely indulged in; occasionally, however, the soil becomes par- 
tially dry. The plants which are most successful in a region where 
such drying-up occurs frequently are those which can resist evapora- 
tion. Fertilization occurs largely through the agency of insects, and 
the seed distribution by means of waves, currents, and animals as well 
as by the wind. Several "ticks" (Bidens) obviously are adapted for 
animal distribution. Many, if not most aquatic plants also propagate 
by root-runners 

The birds nest chiefly in reed-hung or floating nests. The 
females and nestlings are,, in almost every case, streaked and conse- 
quently protectively colored. All species are from infancy swimmers 
or waders. The bills are chiefly sharn and adapted to impaling, or to 
probing (the tip of the upper mandible being capable of independent 
movement), or are supplied with strainers. 

The mammals are all semi-aquatic and rear their young above the 
water-level, in burrows or houses. The muskrat, mink (Mustela vison 
latifer) and beaver (Castor c. canadensis) are examples. 

The snakes and turtles travel freely on land and lay their eggs 
or bring forth their young there, but spend much of their time in or on 
the water. 

The amphibians are of two sorts, the aquatic salamanders (Ambly- 
stoma tigrium) and the semi-aquatic frogs (Rana pipiens, Acris gryl- 
liis). The adaptations of frogs to life on land, bv the growth of legs 
and other changes, is too well known for more than mention, but the 
changes undergone suggest the striking differences between the habitats. 

Fishes resemble tadpoles in many respects. The habit of swimming 
against the current, which most fish inhabiting swift streams have, 
is an interesting method, also used by various invertebrates, of prevent- 
ing their being washed away by the current. 

Almost all of the insects characteristic of aquatic areas spend a 
portion, in many cases the larval stages, of their life in the water. 
Examples are mosquitoes, dragon-flies, damsel-flies, may-flies, water 
beetles and water-boatmen. 

( B ) Marshes 

Marshy areas are found in all parts of the state, but they are 
more numerous and extensive in the eastern third than elsewhere. 
Most marshes are in depressions in the surface of the drift-sheet, but 

71 Polygonum hyrtvopii.cr. P. lapathifolium. P. Muhlenbergil, P. pennsv- 
Ivanicum, P. persicaria. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 105 

there are some along streams, in "blow-outs" (p. — ), or about springs. 
Many areas which are often submerged to a slight depth do not de- 
velop into marshes because of the frequency of the disappearance of 
the water. Marsh vegetation requires soil almost continually water 
soaked. 

The marshes of South Dakota may be classed as (a) those with 
a low vegetation of broad-leaved plants and (b) those with tall grass- 
like plants. 

( 1 ) Many marshy areas have a dense growth of smartweed, several 
species of which are abundantly represented in this area. The marsh 
flax (Coreopsis tinctoria) grows as a secondary species in many little 
marshes, and makes them gaudy for several weeks with yellow and 
maroon colored flowers. This type of marsh appears to be far less 
attractive to birds than does the other. No species of bird is common 
in smartweed marshes, nor does the muskrat frequent such places. 

(2) Areas occupied by tall grasses and reeds more often are thought 
of as marshes than the preceding type. In this state there are three 
chief types, (1) those dominated bv slough or cord grass (Spartina), (2) 
sedge (Carev, Soirpiis, Cyperus) marshes. (3) red grass ( Calamogros- 
tris) and cat-tail (Typha) marshes. Wild rice (Zizaiiia palustris) is 
found especially in reed marshes in the northeastern corner of the 
state and the mountain rice (Oryzopsis) in the Black Hills. 

The chief marsh birds are the thick-billed redwing blackbird, yellow- 
head blackbird, sora and Vireinia rails, American bittern, black tern 
and certain ducks, such as the pintail and mallard, which nest near 
such marshes, especially where thev are contiguous with open water. 
The leopard frog (Rana pipiens) attracts the night-heron. The sala- 
mander (Amblystoma tierinum) is common in the larger marshes. The 
muskrat is the onlv mammal associated with isolated marshes. The 
turtle or terrapin (Melaooclemnys greosTaphica) frequently migrates into 
such marshes. There are in this state four species of snails which are 
found commonly in marshes only. 

(C) Ponds 
Ponds diiTer from marshes r-hiefly in lacking conspicuous vegetation. 
There is a variety of ponds: d) verv temiDorary ponds on land which 
is cultivated after the water disappears; () tempo'-a'-y nonds in blow- 
outs. In many cases in the western part of the stat« the soU of the 
blow-outs is surcharged with salts, and bottom nearly devo'd of veg- 
etation; (3) temporary pools (water-holes) along the courses of tem- 
porary streams. In each of these three sorts of ponds there are many 
algae and a short-lived fauna of entomostraca (Copepods) and the more 
minute invertebrates, at least ten species of snails."'? and many insects. 
Mosquitoes are very abundant, much more so than about areas con- 
taining fish and frogs. These temporary ponds are very attractive to 
shore birds, and in the proper season scores of individuals representing 
numerous species may be seen on the margins. The Killdeer and "Wil- 
son phalarope are the two that breed most abundantly, most of the 
others being migrants, but spending as long a time here as in their 
Arctic breeding grounds. After such ponds dry up, the larger areas 
may be occupied with rfquirrel tail grass (Hordoum iiibatuni). The 
little waterholes in many cases contain the four-leaved clover (Mar- 
silia) which matures its seeds onlv after exiiosure. Permanent or 
nearly permanent ponds are bordered by a greater variety of vegeta- 
tion and possess a more varied fauna than temporary ponds. 



"-'Lymnaea i)alustris, L. .stafiiiali.s opprfssa, T'lanorbi.s i)arvus, Ph.vsa sayi. 

■^In poncl.s of classes (I) an.l (ti)': IMaiiorbis irivolns, r. hicarinntus in 
watfrhouis: Lymnea bulimoides cockerelli, L. caperata. Ij. obrussa, Pisidium 
contortum, P. overi. 



lOG THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

(D) Lakes 

Lakes differ from ponds in respect to depth: bodies of standing 
water deep enougli not to freeze to tlie bottom are in this region usually 
called lakes, even though their expanse is slight. The shallower lakes 
or parts of lakes may have an abundant vegetation of submerged 
plants, in some places of water crowfoot (Batrachium), milfoil ( Myriop- 
hyllum), pondweed ( Potomogetan) , hornwort (Ceratophjilum demersum) 
or in some of the larger lakes of water lilies (Nyniphaea advena). The 
duckweed (Lemiia minor) is an abundant floating plant in many lakes. 
Marshy tracts are found about many, and the fluctuation in level of a 
majority, since a majority have no outlets, is sufficient to produce mar- 
ginal portions which resemble temporary ponds. 

A large number of birds occur as migrants; for examule, some 
twenty-five species of ducks are recorded^* from the lakes of eastern 
South Dakota. Several species of water birds secure their food from 
lakes or from marshy tracts adjacent. Three grebes (pied-billed, eared, 
and western) are fairly common or locally abundant in South Dakota, 
as are several ducks (ruddy, scaup, baldpate). Mallards, pintails, and 
blue-wing teal also nest abundantly in marshy tracts bordering lakes, 
as do other birds mentioned under "marshes." The Franklin gull 
nests on many of the larger lakes of the northeastern part of the state, 
but secures most of its food (chiefly grasshoppers) from fields and 
grasslands. 

The only abundant mammal is the muskrat, but the mink, which 
preys upon it, is not uncommon, and the beaver, formerly was plentiful. 

Both of the two common South Dakota turtles, thei terrapin and 
the snapping turtle, are found in lakes, but the latter is more abun- 
dant in streams. 

There are three species of bivalve mollusks and various snails. 75 
Several fishes (carp, black bass and bullheads) have been introduced 
into lakes, hut aside from these, few lakes' have fish of considerable 
size. 

D Streams 

The streams of South Dakota may be grouped into rivers, creeks 
and brooks. Rivers are of two distinct types, (a) the sluggish streams 
of the eastern section of the state, and (b) the swift streams of the 
western part. Streams which go dry nearly every year in parts of 
their courses usually are called creeks. Brooks differ from the other 
streams in being fed chiefly from springs afid hence normally clear. 
They are also permanent and swift flowing. The "creeks" in the Black 
Hills are considered here as brooks. The brooks in the sandhills and 
in the forested buttes are nearly all very short. The fauna and flora 
m or bordering streams is rich in species. 

(a) I»lants. In many places there are trees along streams; western 
cottonwoods and several willows are very generally distributed; the 
dogwood overhangs many brooks and also pools in creeks. The horse- 
tails (Equestum) and various sedges (Carex, Sc'rpus, Cyperus) and 
rushes (Juncus), notablv the spike-rush (Eleochris) are abundant on 
the moist margins of streams, where various species of dock (Rumex) 
are very conspicuous late in the season. The water plantain (Alisma), 
WoT^^Ii?^^*!.^ 5£!"fJ".!^l' ^"'^ several species of buttercups (Ranunculus, 

ic- 
trans- 



Halerpestes) are found along streams not liable to frequent wide flue 
tua ions in volume, or if such fluctuations occur, do not then tram 
port large quantities of coarse, cutting materials. 

In rivers and the less permanent parts of the creeks vegetation is 
chiefly m icroscopic. In the deeper pool of creeks various attached 

C^.y'V^::^Iy\^;orJ^l,^^^r^^,;U^^-^^^- ^-"ty. S. D.. The Auk, 1913: of 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 107 

submerged plants, including the water buttercup (Batrachium), 
false water-cress (Roripa), pond-weed (Potomogeton) and stone-wort 
(hara fortid) may be found. In brooks, the true water-cress (Carde- 
mine) is abundant, and in many places the matgrass (Catabrosa), and 
there is a rich flora along the margins. The willow herl) (Epilobium), 
mint (Mentha), hyssop (Gratiola), water horehound (Lycopus), water 
hemlock (Cicuta), arrowgrass (Triglochin) , marigold or beggars' tick 
(Bidens), monkey flower (Mimulus), St. John's wort (Hypericum), 
thoroughwort (Eupatorium), skull cap (Scutellaria), and others are 
widespread along brooks. 

(b) Animal-s. Several birds are found most frequently along 
streams. Examples are the belted kingfisher, great blue and little green 
heron, and the black-crowned night heron, spotted and solitary sand- 
pipers, killdeer, and green and blue-winged teals and pintail ducks. 
The wood duck formerly was common along the streams of eastera 
South Dakota. The American dipper or water ousel is abundant on the 
streams in the Black Hills. 

The mammals found about the streams are the muskrat Fiber zithoi- 
fles ciiinaoniis), beaver Castor c. caiiadensi.s) , which still is found in 
each quarter of the state, and mink (Mitstela vison latifera). Formerly 
the otter (Lutra c. canadensis) was represented. 

The reptiles are the garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis), which is 
very abundant, and snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina). In creeks 
the last is found only in the deeper pools. 

The only amphibian which is widely abundant along streams is 
the leopard or grass frog (Rana pipiens). 

The fish of the state are few in number as well as comparatively 
small in size. This condition appears to be correlated with the char- 
acter of the streams. It is seldom that a catfish (Ictalurus) weighing 
more than ten pounds is caught except in the Missouri River, the 
deepest stream of the state, and the record for the state is placed at 
twenty-five pounds. In the lower Mississippi River the same species 
attains a weight of 100 pounds. Bullheads (Ameiurus), catfish (Ictalu- 
rus), carp (Cyprinus), buffalo-fish (Ictiobus), suckers (Catosomus)( 
and shiners or minnows ( Xotropis ) are abundant in the larger streams. 
Pickerel (Esox), piko (Esox), sunfish (Lepomis), perch (Perca), gar 
(Lepiososteus) and the red-horse (Moxostoma) also are represented 
in most rivers. In the brooks there are darter (Boleosoma), dace (Phox- 
inus), trout (Salvelinus) and minnows (Notropis). 

The mollusca of sluggish streams in the eastern part of the state 
include a variety of Unios, Anodonta, Quadrula and Sphaerium. Ano- 
donta (A. grandis) is the most abundant clam recorded from the west- 
ern half of the state. The fact that the western rivers are frequently 
raging torrents and carry stones of considerable size is the probable 
explanation of the scarcity of clams. In pools, "water holes," along 
creeks are found several snails of three genera.'" 

Many other invertebrates are found in or about streams. The fresh 



""Anodonta sranrlis; Lampsili.s luteolis, Symphynota complanata; Valvata 




streams 



"Lymnea bulimoides cockerelli, L. caperata, L. obrussa, Pisidium con- 
tortum, Planorbis trlvolvus, P. bicarinatus. 



108 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

water shrimp (Gammarus) and the planarian flat-worm (Planaria, Den- 
drocoelum), are exceedingly abundant about some streams, as is the 
snail Zonitoides. rawfish (Cambarus) are widespread. Water-beetles, 
water-boatmen (Corixa), backswimmer (Notonecta), damsel flies, may- 
flies, mosquitoes and black flies (Simulium) are numerous. The larvae 
of the latter builds a case of tiny pebbles about itself, and the "houses" 
of "caddis flies" are very abundant on submerged rocks in the swifter 
and clearer streams. 

From the preceding discussion, it appears that the native flora 
and fauna have been influenced powerfully by geographic conditions. 
The human life, treated in the following chapter, has been affected to 
a lesser degree, but nevertheless, greatly. 






CHAPTER SEVEN 

Hl'MAX GEOGRAPHY 

1. Present conditions, p. 109: the evolution of the present conditions, 
cr The General Historical Geography, p. 129. 

(A) Tlie Population and Its Composition 

The population of this area, as returned by the several federal 
and state censuses, w^as as follows: 







Increase Over 


I'ercentase 


Density 


Year 


I'opulation 


Preceedins^' 


of 


per 






Census Year 


Increase 


Square Mile 


1870 


11,925 






.16 


1880 


98,711 


"86,786 


853 ' 


1.2 


1885 


262,560 


163,849 


156 


3.4 


1890 


348,662 


86,102 


32.3 


4.5 


1895 


330,975 


17,687 


5 


4.3 


1900 


401,570 


70.595 


21.3 


5.2 


i9or. . 


455,185 


53.615 


13.4 


5.9 


1910 


583,888 


128,703 


28.3 


7.6 



The federal censusi records a large but relatively decreasing for- 
eign-born element in the population (17.2% in 1910, 22% in 1900, 

2 6.1% in 1890). The proportion of foreign-born persons is higher in 
the rural than in the urban districts {11 A% vs. 16.3% in 1910). Five 
counties reported no foreign-born persons in 1910, fifty-one reported 
between 10% and 25%, and four counties more than 25%. Of the 
foreign-born in 1910 37% were Scandinavians (Norway, 20.8%; Sweden, 
9.9%; Denmark, 6.3%), while natives of Germany made 21.4%, Russia 
13.1%, Canada 6%, Austria 5.3%, England 4%, Ireland 3%, Holland 
2.6%, leaving 7.i6l % for all other nationalities represented. 

The percentage of the population reported as native-born with 
one or both parents of foreign birth (37.2% in 1910, 38.9% in 1900, 

3 2.4% in 1890), is nearly twice as large as the foreign-born element. 2 
Of these two elements making up the so-called population of foreign 
origin, (54.4% of the total population in 1910, 60.9% in 1900, 57.5% 
in 1890), in 1910 Germany had contributed 26%, Norway 19.1%, Russia 
10.4%, Sweden 7.3%, Canada 6.3%, Ireland 5.5%, Denmark 4.7%, 
England 4.7%, Austria 4,2%, Holland 2.1%, Scotland 1.3%, Finland 
1%.- If to the large per cent (26) accredited to Germany, the Germans 
born in Austria and Russia and their children could be added, it is 
probable that the Germanic element in the state would exceed the 
Scandinavian (31.1%). Most of the Russians are Teutonic Mennonites 
and most of the Austrians are Teutonic Bohemians. 

The rest of the white population (42.1% in 1910, 33.1% in 1900) 
Is native-born of native-born parents. Of this element more than half 
(53.4% in 1910, 41.4% in 1900, 65% in 1890) were born in other 
states or territories. The seven states that contributed most, with the 
per cents for 1910 and for 1900 are Iowa {15.7, 9.9); Nebraska (3.8, 
2.0); New York 2.1, 3.8); and Ohio (1.8. 2.3). All other states con- 
tributed but 11.2% in 1910, and 11.8% in 1900. •* When grouped by 
geographic divisions, it appears that of this native element 74.6% in 
1910 and 11.1% in 1900 were born in the "West North Central 
States," as that division is defined in the Census reports, while the 
"East North Central States" supplied 17.8% and 18.6% respectively. 
The "Middle Atlantic Division" contributed 3.7% in 1910, and 5.8% in 

^Supplement for S. Dak., pp. 589-590, (Washington, 1913) 
=Ibid., p. 590. 
=rbid., p. 591. 



110 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



1900, leaving but 3.9% in 1910 and 4.5 7f in 1900 for the population 
contribnuted by the other divisions of the Union. The percentage of 
the population native to the West North Cemtral Stateis aside from Iowa 
has fallen off slightly, as the increase (3.5%) shown by this division 
is more than covered by the large increase (5.8%) from Iowa. The 
East North Central Division has lost but slightly (1.2%), while the 
represemtation sent by the Middle Atlantic and New England sections, 
decreased about a third, in each case, between 1900 and 1910. 

As the number of Indians has remained about stationary (19,137 in 
1910, 20,225 in 1900 and 19,854 in 1890) they form a decreasing 'pro- 
portion of the entire population (5.7% in 1890, 3.3% in 1910). Negroe'S 
have comprised about 0.1% of the population since 1890. 



yy//'''''/''/'''/''/',j- eoMOB \ • ^ 

r - ' '//''''''/'.^tHHK^^zX new.* K*<^ ^^/^^.^ A,.^ ^ J' 



„ V . „.„o- I "• F'^~- 

-..^.Z PINE i^RlDGE I t| ., 



rKTOlAN" R ES!eR VAT lO N 

SHANNON 






?'JSs¥.f..5 



MTANTd PER SQUARE MILE 



30. Density of Population of South Dakota, by Counties, 1010. 



(B) The IMstributioii of the Population 

Fig. 30 shows the density, and thus the distribution, of the popu- 
lation of South Dakota by counties in 1910. The population is most 
dense in the eastern, especially in the southeastern, part of the state, 
and least dense in the extreme northwestern county, and in the Indian 
reservations, present or recent, in the north-central and south-central 
parts of the state. Mining and irrigation support in the Black Hills 
region a population much denser than occurs elsewhere in the western 
half of the state. With the exception of parts of the reservations and 
of the Black Hills, the population in a general way decreases in den- 
sity with increased distance from the southeastern corner of the state. 
It was noted in earlier connections that with the exception of the Black 
Hills, there is a similar decrease in the amount of rainfall and in the 
length of the growing season with increased distance' from the south- 
eastern corner. 

In discussing the distribution of the population, it will be con- 
venient to treat separately the distribution of towns and of the rural 
population. Since more than two-thirds (66.7%) of the population 
live outside of towns, the latter will be discussed last. 

The density of the "rural" population (all persons not living in 



THE GEOGRAPHY OP SOUTH DAKOTA 111 

places of more than S.^OO) is very similar to that indicated in Fig. 30. 
However, Codington, Lake, Davison, Hughes, Lawrence and Yankton 
counties are le/ss densely ])opulated than indicated by Fig. 3 0, due to 
the exclusion of the populations of the cities of Watertown, Madison, 
Mitchell. Pierre, Lead, and Yankton respectively. With the exception 
of Yankton County, a map of the rural population bv counties supports 
the generalization made for the distribution of the population even 
better than did the map (Fig. 30) of the entire population. 

1. IjOcation of Dwellings 

Areas subject even rarely to inundation have relatively few homes. 
A large majority of the buildings in the valleys are on higher ground 
near the bases of the bluffs, in many cases on alluvial fans and piedmont 
slopes. Many of the latter also are occupied by "bluff roads." Most 
of the relatively few homes located on the flood-plains are on spots 
somewhat higher than their surrcundings. Similarly very few homes 
are located within the "lake-beds," exceedingly numerous in the 
glaciated ])art of the state, with the result that a large proportion 
are near the margins of such depressions. In the more rugged parts 
of the state, notably the Black Hills, the badlands, and the bluff zones 
along the streams, the steeper slopes were avoided in locating homes. 
Throughout most of the state, however, the topography is that of a 
gently undulating plain, and on nearly every quarter section of land 
there are many suitable building sites. Consequently a large majority 
of the homes are located within a few rods of the section line road, 
and near the middle of one of the sides of the "quarter." This is 
the most convenient location from the standpoint of access both to 
the highway and to all parts of the "quarter." Rural free delivery 
and telephones have increased the desirability of being near rather 
than far from the main highway. Many farms consist of more than 
one "quarter, "^ and in such cases the home is likely to be near the 
middle of the farm, which lies on both sides of the section-line road. 
As already noted, there are roads along most section lines, this 
being practicable because of the slight relief over wide areas. Since 
most towns of the state are laid cut in relation to section or half- 
section lines, and most rural homes are near such lines, it follows 
that the latter are the determining factor in the detailed distribution 
of most of the homes and most of the people. A geographic feature 
is responsible for the precise location of these lines. In the area 
east of the Missouri River, the survey of which these lines are a part, 
used the mouth of the St. Francis River in Arkansas as the starting 
point. An east-west line through the mouth was made the baseline, 
a north-south line (which happened to be 90° 58' west from Green- 
wich) was made the prime meridian.'' Had the position of the mouth 
of the St. Francis River been different, and because of the shifting of 
the Mississii)pi River it frequently has changed, the distribution of most 
of the homes in eastern South Dakota, as in parts of certain other 
north central states, would have been different than it is. The land 
survey of that section of South Dakota west of the Missouri River 
used the 4 4th parallel as its base line. 

2. The Location of Town.s, 

The location of almost all South Dakota towns, except some in 
the Black Hills, is associated closely with railroads. They are spaced 



■•.About 1-10 of the farms consist of one find one half "quarters," while 
nearly one third include two quarters, according- to the 13th Census (Sup- 
I)lemenl for S. Dak., j). 619). 

"Smith and Youiif?: History and Civil Government of South Dakota, pp. 
136-135, (New York, 1904). 



112 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



at intervals of about ten (eight to twelve) miles along the tracks. 
Railroads are sufficiently plentiful east of the Missouri so that few 
/ocalities are more than fifteen miles from a station, and yet few towns 
are less than eight miles apart. Thus towns have substantially equal 
advantages in regard to the size of the territory most readily acces- 
sible to them. 

The seat of local government is such a valuable asset to a town 
that in most cases the county seat has become the largest town of the 
county. Consequently, in most new counties there was great rivalry 
between the towns for the county seat, and the political ambitions of 
many towns were powerful influences in favor of small counties rather 
than large ones. Some of the county seats are junction points of two 
or more railroad lines, and such towns have outstripped less favored 
ones. 




The relative size of incorporated cities and villages is shown by the 
size of the circles 

tiootc 1,000 Q 1,000 lo 10,000^^ 10,000 to i4,oq4 ^«t^\ 'I he area and relative 

^^ ^^^f /o/'i/j/icM of Sioux Falls 

Fig. 31. The Density of Urban Topnlation in South Dakota, Censu.s of 1910. 

With few exceptions, the larger cities are fifty miles or more 
apart. To a certain extent they serve the surrounding towns, as whole- 
sale centers, and sites of relatively advanced educaticnal facilities and 
amusements. Manufacturing is increasing rapidly in the larger cities. 

In regard to towns, the state is divided readily into three sections, 
though the boundaries are less distinct than they were before 1905: (1) 
The eastern half of the state; (2) the Black Hills region;" (3) the 
Great Plains section. 

(1) The, Towns of the Eastern Halt of the State. Of the ninety 
towns which in 1910 had a population of 500 or more, all but fourteen 
are east of the Missouri River. Every one of the ninety towns has 
a railroad, and ten of the fifteen east of the Missouri, having a popula- 
tionof more than 1,500, have two or more lines. Of the other five, 
one IS the capital, one the site of the State University, and another 
the site of the College of Agriculture. The other two are barelv within 
this group. 

Of the seventy-six towns under discussion, thirty-eight have but 
one railroad each. Of these, seven are on railroads which run north- 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 113 

south and five are on diagonal lines, while twenty-six are on east-west 
lines, which as a class are older than the other lines. The thirty-eight 
remaining towns of this group have east-west and either north-south 
or diagonal lines. 

Of the seventy-six towns of the eastern group, only three, Pierre, 
Chamberlain and Yankton, are on the Missouri River. Vermilion for- 
merly was on that stream, but the shifting river is now about two 
miles away. Only one of these towns. Olivet, is on the Dakota River, 
though several (Canton, Sioux Falls, Dell Rapids, and Flandreau are on 
the Sioux. Yankton Sioux Falls and Vermilion were the only river 
towns which were of significance before the coming of railroads. 
Yankton was then the capital of the Territory, and although it benefitted 
greatly by the river in early days, it no longer does. The stream is 
not bridged, and thereifore partially cuts off from the city nearly half 
the territory which might be expected exclusively to depeiid on it. 
Yankton has declined with the falling off almost to nil of navigation 
on the Missouri, and the building of a railroad on the opposite side 
of the river. The growth of Vermilion has been slow for similar rea- 
sons. Chiefly because of the expense and difficulties in bridging the 
Missouri River, several east-west railroads had their termini for many 
years on its east bank, with the result that towns grew up there. 
Chamberlain and Pierre are the larger towns whose growth was stim- 
ulated in this way. Running Water and Le Beau are small towns 
(less than 500) at the termini of railroads, which indirectly owe their 
existence to the river. 

Nearly all the other towns of this part of the state owe their 
location to railroads. A large proportion of them were laid out 
along the east-west lines, as most of the east-west roads were con- 
structed before the main north-south lines. The location of the rail- 
roads, and hence, in a way, of the towns, was influenced by (1) the 
presence of preglacial valleys across the relatively high Western Coteau 
and (2) favorable points for crossing the Dakota River. The main 
line of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul, heading for the 
Black Hills, preempted the southern gap in the Coteau, between 
the Wessington Hills ' and the Bijou Hills. Entering Dakota at Canton, 
the railroad in 1880 was built across the Vermilion River Valley at 
its forks and across the Dakota River where a tributary stream (Fire- 
steel Creek) had prepared the way for a relatively easy crossing, by 
making a relatively easy grade from the river to the plain on the 
west. Elsewhere in the vicinity, and for some miles to the south, the 
Dakota River flows through a shallow gorge, which it would have been 
difficult to cross. Mitchell was located on the plain just west of this 
crossing, from which the line continues westward through the gap in 
the Coteau to the Missouri River at Chamberlain. The main east-west 
line of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad entered Dakota in 1880' 
from the east near Brookings, swinging north to avoid a group of 
large lakes in Kingsbury County, and thence continuing nearly west 
through the next ga]) to the north in the West Coteau and down the 
valley of Medicine Knoll Creek to the Missouri flood-plain. It fol- 
lowed up this plain to a point opposite the mouth of the Teton River, 
where Pierre was founded. In 1907 it was continued westward to 
Rapid City in the Black Hills. Nearly midway between these two 
roughly parallel lines, which are about fifty miles apart east of the 
Missouri River, is the east-west line of the Chicago, Milwaukee and 
St. Paul, which entered Dakota near Flandreau and was extended west 
to the western Coteau at Wessington Springs. The location of a con- 
siderable section of this line is said to have been due to the relatively 
favorable crossing of the Dakota River by way of the small tributary 

Si&.— 8. 



114 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



valley of Silver Creek. In a similar way the other east-west lines, with 
their attendant towns, were influenced in their location, even in so 
nearly level an area as eastern South Dakota, by physiographic fea- 
tures. 

Near the points where each of the railroad lines crossed the Sioux 
and Dakota rivers, town sites were laid out, and between these points 
stations were located ten miles or so apart along the railroads. 

The north-south railroad lines are next in importance. The 
bottom of the Sioux Valley is fertile and nearly level, and by 187 5 
it had a considerable population. It was followed by the earliest 
north-south railroad line, completed to Sioux Falls in 187 8, and to 
Flandreau in 1879. Prominent railroad towns in this valley are Elk 
Point, Canton, Sioux Falls, Flandreau, Brookings, and Watertown. The 
topography of the Dakota Valley favors railroad building as well as 
the fertility does agriculture, and the second of the north-south lines 
was built, mostly in 1883, up the west side of the valley. It increased 
the importance of several towns already laid out on east-west lines, 
especially Mitchell, Woonsocket, Huron, Redfield, and Aberdeen, and 
it led to the establishment of many smaller towns. The territory be- 
tween the Sioux and Dakota valleys needing railroads, lines were built 
(mostly in 1886) along the low intervening divide. The towns along 
these lines are not so large as those in the valleys. The more prom- 
inent are Centerville, Parkeir, Salem, Howard, Madison, Lake Pres- 
ton, Bristol, and Britton. 

Part of the broad divide between the Dakota and Missouri val- 
leys is rugged, and no railroads have followed it entirely across the 
state. Among the towns in this region, most of them on east-west 
railroads, may be mentioned Tyndall, Platte, Stickney, Plankington, Wes- 
sington Springs, Miller, Highmore, Clark, Gettysburg, Faulkton, Ipswich, 
and Roscoe. 

( 2 ) The Tounis of the Black Hills Regfion. The location of most 
of the towns in the Black Hills was determined by mines, or by passes 
into the more rugged sections. Custer, Keystone, Galena, Deadwood, 
and Lead are examples of the former class, and Edgemont, Hot Springs, 
Rapid City, Sturgis, Whitewood, and Spearfish of the latter, though the 
growth of Hot Springs was due largely to hot mineral springs. De- 
posits of gypsum also have been of importance there, as at Rapid City. 

(3) Towns of the Great Plains Section. This part of the state 
had no towns until the coming of railroads. Once a year the ranchers 
drove stock to market towns in the Black Hills, or to the railroads 
near the Missouri River. In many cases these towns were scores of miles 
from the ranches. Supplies for months were secured on such trips. 
The westward extension of the railroads (1906 to 1910) changed con- 
ditions greatly, and now there are many small railroad towns in this 
part of the state. Six railroads have crossed part of this region, four 
of them following the main divides. Formerly the valleys were inhab- 
ited and the divides were unoccupied, but now the divides are the more 
densely populated belts. Cross-line railroads have not been built, and 
several of these young towns are so nearly equal in size that it is 
quite uncertain which will attain leadership. Among the more prom- 
inent are Gregory, Dallas, and Winner along the White-Niobrara Divide. 
Presho, Murdo, and Interior along the White River Valley; Midland, 
Philip, and Quinn in the Teton Valley; Eagle Butte and Faith on the 
Moreau-Cheyenne Divide; Timber Lake and Isabel on the Moreau-Grand 
Divide; and McLaughlin, Mcintosh, and Lemmon on the Grand-Canon- 
ball Divide. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 115 

(C) THE MORE IMPORTANT OOOUPATIONS 

1 . Agnficulture 

A large majority of the people in South Dakota are engaged in 
agriculture. In 1910 only 13.1 </r of the entire population of the state 
resided in cities and towns having a population of 2,500 or more, and 
in 1900 only 10.29'r.fi At the taking of the 1910 census more than 60 
per cent of the dwellings were on the 77,644 farms of the state. There 
were only 5,1*26 persons engaged in manufacturing, and only 4,169 per- 
sons engaged in mining, quarrying, and well-drilling. These industries 
employed less than 5% of the 197,000 males of 18 years and over. 
The percentage engaged in commerce and transportation probably is 
larger than that, but the figure is not available. It appears likely, how- 
ever, that more than 75 9f of the workers of South Dakota are engaged 
in agricultural and pastoral pursuits. 

Farming and stock-raising are the leading occupations, largely 
because of geographic conditions. The wide extent of nearly level, fer- 
tile plains, grass-covered, and ready for the plow, and Jairly well warmed 
and watered, encouraged agriculture. In contrast, the treelessness of 
most of the area determined that lumbering should be unimportant. 
The lack of highly valuable deposits of coal or iron, or of other min- 
erals outside the Black Hills, prevented mining from assuming the 
leading place. IManufacturing is handicapped greatly (1) for want of 
cheap supplies of good fuel or of sufficient water power, (2) by the 
relatively sparse population, and (3) by the small local market. Be- 
cause South Dakota is near the center of a great continent, lacks effective 
natural highways, such as the Great Lakes, is on the border of the more 
densely populated region to the east, and is separted from the west 
by mountain barriers, commerce is not likely to attain to a leading 
rank among the occupations of the people. 

The leading tyiies of agriculture (extensive farming of staple cereals 
and stock-raising) and the kinds of crops grown are responses to geo- 
graphic conditions. The position of the state far from the chief mar- 
kets for the produce, and in a vast area having similar climatic and 
soil conditions, small local markets, and without quick transportation 
to distant markets, discourages market gardening or the growing of 
fancy crops. The climate is unfavorable to horticulture, in comparison 
with that of many other regions. The uncertainty of the rainfall, the 
scanty population, and the cheapness of land combine to discourage 
intensive agriculture. On the other hand, the climate, topographically, 
soil, and native vegetation' are all relatively favorable to the grazing 
industry and to the growing of certain standard crops, notably wheat, 
oats, corn, and hay. 

(a) Stock-raisiiif;'. From the first settlement of the state, a major 
part of its used area has been devoted to stock-raising. The nutritious 
native grasses, cured to hay during the dry autumns, and the 
light snowfall during most winters always will favor this industry. 
Formerly the presence of much unsettled land, and the ability of stock 
to travel many miles to market or to shipjiing points gave grazing a 
great advantage over farming, the farmer finding vast unsettled stretches 
of country a menace because of prairie fires and locusts.^ The cost 



"U. S. Ctn.sus: Sujiplement for S. Dak.. ]). 661, (Washinsion, 1913). 

•The soil of the state ha.s been discussed in Chapter Three (p. 21); the 
topography In Chapter Four (p. 46): the climate in Chapter Five (p. 72); 
an.l the natui-al vepetation in Chajiter six ( i). 101). 

"Grasshoppers or locusts such as tliose whicli inflicted p:reat damage to 
the crops in 1864, 1865. 187.'?-1875, are grassland si)ecies. The breakinp up 
of the sod. their hreedinf»- grounds, reduces their abundance. Furthermore 
the extension of the tilled area reduces the proportional damage done to 
any unit area. 



116 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



of transporting crops long distances in many cases was prohibitive or 
greatly reduced the profit. Because of the variable and uncertain rain- 
fall in most of the state, mixed farming, in which stock-raising formed 
a promine-nt part, has proved more profitable than either cereal farm- 
ing or stock-raising alone. Consequently there continue to be great 
numbers of stock in South Dakota. The census of 1910 reported more 
than l,53.'i,000 cattle, nearly 670,000 horses, nearlv 13,000 mules, more 
than 611,000 sheep, 2,300 goats, and about 1,010,000 hogs.^a During 
many years the livestock sold each year has been second in value to 
the wheat crop." 

Stock-raising was predominant in the area east of the Missouri 
River during the lS60's and 1870's before the region was served effi- 




I I Lesi ;^Ion *IOOO 

YfVi *zsoo\n44ooo 
1 1 1 II Stooo\at<ii over 



Fig. 32. The Value of Domestic Animals per Suqare Mile, Census of 1010. 



ciently by railroads, i" as Indian agencies and military posts formed ex- 
cellent markets for beefn not needed on the farms and in the towns 
of the area. The raising of stock was thus highly profitable. "Capital 
invested in stock usually brings a return of about 50% per annum. "12 
"The want of capital is the chief thing that keeps homesteaders from 
going into stock-raising. "i^ 

The "Herd-law," making cattle owners responsible for damage done 
to crops, whether fenced or not, was passed before 1883, and it greatly 
stimulated tillage, ^ as fencing was expensive. 15 Tillage was encouraged 

"a Census Supplement: loc. cit., p. 630. 

»Johnson, Willis E.: Dakota, a Republic of Friends, p. 164, (Pierre, 1911). 

'"Brennan, .John: Conditions and Resources of Southern Dakota, p. 27, 
(Sioux City), 1872). 

"Foster, James S. : Outlines of the History of Dakota, p. 68, (Yankton, 
1870). 

i=Ibid., p. 91. 

"Brennan: loc. cit., p. 11. 

"Polk's Gazetteer of Minn, and Dak. for 1882. p. 900, (Detroit, 1882). 

"'"Most of the fence made In Dakota previous to 1870 was of posts and 
boards or posts and i-ails mortised. Wire fencing- was first extensively in- 
troduced in 1870. It cost a dollar a rod." (Foster: loc. cit., p 90). 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 117 

still further by a series of wet years (1878-85), and by the extension 
of railroads. As the land of the eastern part of the area was appro- 
priated l)y farmers during the early 1880's, stock-raising shifted west- 
ward. During the dry years cf the early 1890's, when much land in 
the eastern section was abandoned, herds reappeared in this region, and 
since then stock-raising has remained important. According to the Cen- 
sus of 1910, the southeastern counties have more livestock pec square 
mile than has any other part of the state (Fig. 32). 

Cattle were introduced into the Black Hills region in 187."), i" 
shortly after the beginning of the gold rush, and by 1878, the year 
following the purchase of the region from the Indians, 100,000 cattle, 
many having been driven from Texas ,were reported from the area 
almost enclosed by the forks of the Cheyenne. Most of them were in 
Dakota. 1' There was a very rapid develoi)ment of grazing in western 
Dakota during the next few years, induced by the settling of eastern 
Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas, and by the extension of railroads to 
the Missouri River at Pierre and Chamberlain and across Nebraska 
and the area now included in North Dakota. By 1883 there were 500,000 
cattle in the Black Hills region. i^ During the next two years the in- 
dustry spread to the Little Missouri region'" and to the Badlands, -o and 
according to the Territorial Census of 1885 there were 233,000 cattle, 
63,000 sheep, and 10,300 horses in the western third of the area now in 
South Dakota. Sheep were introduced extensively into Dakota only 
after 1878. The woolclip of 1880 was nearly 157,000 pounds, while 
that of 1885 was 882,000 pounds. 21 The grazing industry received severe 
setbacks by the hard winter of 1886-87, when heavy snow and great cold 
caused the death of more than 50 9^ of the stock,-- and by the dry years 
of the late 1880's and early 1890's. However, it was reported in 1899 
that there were 225,000 adult cattle in the sections of South Dakota 
near the Black Hills,, distributed as to ranges and the number of out- 
fits as follows :-•' Little Missouri Valley, three large and four small out- 
fits, with 68,000 head of cattle; Moreau Valley, two large and two small 
outfits, with 59,000 head: White River ^Badlands, five outfits, with 32,000 
head: Bad River Vallev, three outfits, and 2 4,000 head: Cheyenne Valley, 
six outfits, with 24,000 head: the Sandhill district, three outfits, and 
16,000 head. During 1896, 1897, and 1898,2* 7,500 carloads of beef 
cattle were shipped from Bellefourche, and 110,000 cattle were shipped 
in 19 02. For several years Bellefourche claimed to be the greatest 
primary cattle shipping market in the world -^' 

Until 1907, grazing continued to be by far the most important in- 
dustry of the western half of the state, the Black Hills excepted. The 
chief ranges centered about the White River Vallev, the Bellefourche 
Valley, and the Little Missouri Valley. In each of these areas badlands 
or "breaks" afforded protection from winter storms, permanent streams 
supplied water, and pasturage was available, especially on the terraces 
or "flats" along the streams. Many large "outfits" occupied the range 
country, and many cattle, mostly "Herefords," as well as many horses 
and sheep were raised. 

■"Tallent, A. D. : The Black Mills, p. lilt, (St. Louis, 1899). 
I'Maudet-Grancy: Colonel and Cowboys, p. 53, (London, 1884). 
"^Andreas. A. T. : Historical Atlas of Dakota, p. 115, (Chicago, 1!S84); 
Maudet-Grancy: loc. cit., p. 53. 
"'Tallent: loc. cit., p. 675. 

^"Governor's Report to the Secretary of the Interior for 1884. 
2iMcClure, P. P.: The Resources of Dakota, p. 138, (Aberdeen, 1887). 
^---Baldwin, G. P.: The Black Hills, p. 59. (Chicago, 1904). 
=''Tallent: loc. cit., p. 686. 
=*Tallent: loc. cit., p. 683. 
2K"The Bellefourche Irrigation Project," (Chicago, 1912). 



118 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



The extension of the railroads across the state between 1905 and 
1910, during which years nearly 1,000 miles of line were completed, 
attracted thousands of homesteaders, and their presence made impossible 
ranching on the enormous scale of earlier years, when tens of thousands 
of cattle were owned by one individual or company. In much of the 
western part of the state, however, grazing is the most uniformly profit- 
able industry; and, though range stock is withdrawn on the arrival of 
homesteaders, animals are numerous in most regions. The large out- 
fits with their picturesque cowboys have disappeared, but there were 
perhaps 75,000 more cattle in western South Dakota in 1910 than in 
1899. The thirteenth census records^e nearly 400,000 cattle there; of 
these, probably 3 00,000 were adults. This great increase in a region 
considered overstocked in 189 9, is not surprising when it is recalled that 
the range cattle then received almost no care, that because of lack of 
drinking water in certain seasons many otherwise excellent stretches 
of range were unoccupied, and that then only the territory within reach 
of water holes was stocked. With the settlement of the area, thousands 
of reservoirs have been constructed, the unoccupied tracts have dimin- 
ished greatly, and supplies of hay have reduced winter losses. Wolves 
and coyotes also are less numerous than formerly. 

Table 16 — Stnti.stieal Data for South Dakota. 
From I'. S. Stati.stical Abstract and I'. S. Census Reports. 

Year 1910 1900 1890 1880 

Population 58.?. 888 401,570 348,662 98.711 

R. R. Mileage 3,947 2,850 2.610 1.225 (Dak. T.) 

Cattle (thousands of) 1,535 1,204 717 207 (Dak. T.) 

Horses (thousands of) 669 434 253 42 (Dak. T.) 

Mules (thousands of) 12 6 ~ 7 

Sheep (thousands of) 611 507 239 85 (Dak. T.) 

Swine (thousands of) 1,009 823 590 

Tilled Area (in thousand.s of 

acres) 1 2,227 8,849 

Acreage of Cereals (in thousands 

of acres) 8.203 6.211 3.702 453 (Dak. T.) 



=^'Supplenu.nt for S. Dak., pp. 630-636, (Washington, 191S). 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



119 



(b) FAR^nXG 

In the eastern half of the state, farming is the most 
agricultural activity. The value of the leading products as 
the census of 1910 is given in Table 17. 



important 
shown by 



CROP. 



Farms | 

report- I Acres 
ing-. harvested. 
I 



QUANTITY. 



Amount. | Unit. 



•II Value. 

II 

JJ 



I 

49,2771 

45,1271 

39.4961 

l,9cl| 

29.5281 

13,6501 

13,6241 

28,704| 

157| 

6791 

231 



Cereals, total I . 

Corn I 

Oats I 

Wheat, total I 

Common winter | 

Common spring- 

Durum or macaroni 

■Rmmer and spelt 

Barley | 

Buckwheat | 

Rye I 

Kafir corn and milo maize.. | 

I 1- 

Other grains and seeds with | I 

acreage report, total' |. 

Dry edible beans 

Dry i)eas I 

Flaxseed | 

Seeds with no acreage re- | 

l)ort, total I. 

Timothy seed I 2,5911 (-') 

Clover seed | 1941 (-) 

Alfalfa seed 254| O) 

Millet seed 289< (=) 

Other tame grass seed....! 73| (-) 

Flower and g-arden seeas.| 6| (2) 



8,203,51911 

2,037,65811 

1,559,64311 

3,217,25511 

65,30911 

2,205,39711 

946,54911 

259,61111 

1,114,5S1|| 

1,904|| 

13,77811 

13911 

-II- 



6591 

891 

14,6141 

\ 

■I- 



II 

521.18511 

80911 

1,78311 

518,56611 

II 



174,903, 749iBu . . 

55,558, 737|Bu . . 

43,565,676|Bu . . 

47,059. 590|Bu . . 

952,lll!Bu . . 

30,262,5541Bu . . 

15,844|925iBu .. 

6.098.982IBU . . 

22,396,130|Bu . . 

2S,55liBu . . 

194,672|Bu . . 

l,411|Bu . . 

1 

I 

4,775,760lBu . . 

5,2851Bu . . 

10,5981Bu . . 

4,759,7941B.u . . 



$98,953,050 

26,395,985 

16,044.78."} 

42,878,223 

903,047 

29,391,215 

12,583.961 

2,627,533 

10,873,522 

16,816 

115,126 

1,060 



371,9501Bu . . 

2,9101Bu . . 

4,5571Bu . . 

32,752 Bu . . 

12,454|Bu . . 



7,025.700 
12,575 
11,223 

7.001,717 

620,484 
492,466 
23 593 
37,511 
25,715 
15,285 
25,914 



Hay and foi-age, total 

Timoth\- alone 

Timoth>- and clover mixed.. 

Clover alone 

Alfalfa 

Millet or Hungarian grass.. 
Other tame or cultivated 

grasses 

Wild, salt, or prairie g'rasses 

Grains cut green 

Coai-se forage 

Root forage 



Potatoes 

Sweet potatoes and yams. , 
Sundr- minor crops, total. 

Broom corn 

Tobacco 



54,9271 

8,9751 

5.7251 

2421 

4,428| 

4,3991 

I 

1,279| 

45,6201 

1,204| 

2,740| 

181 

-I- 



44.8291 
301, 



3,435.65611 

178,88111 

129,99511 

2,69311 

66,18311 

35,62511 

II 

51,744|| 

2,913,67611 

24,40911 

32,42711 

2311 

-II- 



I 

3,651,024|Tons 

248,927|Tons..ll 

21S,3711Tons. .11 

4,1941Tons. .11 

153,906|Tons..! 

65,844|Tons..(| 

55,595|Tons..| 
2,798,263lTons. .1 
" ' " Tons.. 
Tons.. 
Tons. . I 



28,186 

77,671 

67 



14| 
111 



50,0521 

7 

64 

641 



3,441, 692|Bu 
866|Bu. 

'sb, 4 66 ILbs'. 
860iL.bs. 



I 15,243,664 
I 1.249.390 
I 1,186,035 
I 23.971 

I 919.946 
293,563 

230,413 

10,814,343 

153.967 

871.516 

520 

1,967,550 

861 

3,528 

3.408 

120 



'Includes small amounts of broom corn seed, peanuts, sorghum cane seed, 
and sunflower seed. 

^The entire acreage from which these seeds were secured is believed to be 
included in the acreage given elsewhere for hay and forage, flowers and 
plants, etc. 

•■'Reported in small fractions. 

Nearly four-fifths (78.8%) of the total value of crops in 1909 was 
contributed by cereals, 12.1% by hay and fodder, 5.61% by grains and 
seeds other than cereals, and the rest (3.5%) by minor crops, chief 
of which is potatoes. 

Corn surpasses wheat in yield though not in value, and is the chief 
crop in the southeastern quarter of the state (Fig. 33). 'South Dakota 
raises more corn than Minnesota or Michigan, and twenty-five times as 



120 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 




Fig-. 33. The Yield of Corn in Bushels per square mile. Census of 1910. 




Fig. 34. The Yield of Wheat in Bushels per Square Mile, Census of 1910 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



121 



much as North Dakota. She produces more than all the New England 
States combined, with New York, North Dakota, New Jersey, Delaware, 
Montana, I'tah, Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado and Wyoming."-^ 
Although some crops have been grown in South Dakota from early 
days,--' there have been notable changes in agricultural practice. In 
pioneer days, wheat was the chief crop.-* It still is predominant in 
the northeastern quarter (Fig. 34). Much recently "broken" land is 
sown to flax, and during the early 1880's this was an important crop 
in the eastern half of the area, as it has been in the wentern half 
during the past decade (Fig. 3.5). 




Fi^. 35. The Yield of Flax Seed in Bushel.s i)er Square Mile, Census of 1910. 



A period of two-crop farming succeeded that in which wheat was 
of chief importance, wheat and corn being rotated commonly in all but 
the northern counties, where wheat and oats, barley, or rye alternated. 
The dry years of the early lS9 0's encouraged still further diversification. 
Alfalfa and other forage crops, barley, oats, corn, flaxseed, potatoes, 
and fruits-"' have increased greatly in importance and cultivation is more 
intensive.-'' One result of this development has been an increase in 
the numbers of dairy cows and hogs, as well as of beef cattle. 

The fluctuations in the acreages of some of the ])rincipal crops of 
South Dakota from 1879-1913 are shown in the next table. The acreage 
devoted to corn is more than three and a half times as great as in 
1889, both the absolute and the relative gain of 1909 over 1899 being 
greater than during the ])receding decade. The increase in the acreage 



=!" .Johnson: loc. cit., p. 63. 

'-''*Polk's Gazetteer of Minnesota ard DaUotP for 1S82, p. 001 records that 
"Dakota exnorts wheat, corn, barley, flaxseed, flour, hog-s, cattle, butter, eggs, 
wool and hides." 

-".lohnson: loc. cit., p. 64; Bailey: loc. cit., p. 7. 

•■"'Fruit raising- commenced aljout 1S68. There was a nursei-y at Yankton 
in 1S70 (Foster: loc. cit., p. 89). The Yankton County fair for 1888 exhibited 
!>2 varieties of locally grown ajiples (Hagerty, F. H. : Dictionary of Dakota, 
p. 2, (Aberdeen. 1889). 



122 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



of oats has been great, but less regular. The acreage of wheat increased 
from 2,259,846 In 1889 to 3,984,659 in 1899, an advance of 76.3 per cent, 
but decreased during the last decade to 3,217,255, a decline of 19.3 
per cent. The acreage of barley increased more than 1,000,000 acres 
during between 1889 and 1909. The acreage of flaxseed decreased be- 
tween 1889 and 1899, but increased much more during the next decade. 
Hay and forage have made important gains during each of the two decades 
in question and in 1910 they had an acreage more than twice as great 
as in 1889. 



Crop Yr. 

1913 
1909 
1899 
1889 
18791 



Corn. 

2,640.000 

2,037.6.5S 

1,196,.'?91 

75.3,309 

90.8.52 



Table IS. 
Acre.s Hnrve.steil. 

Oats. Wheat. Barley. 



1,590.000 

3,217.255 

691,167 

580,289 

78.226 



3,795,000 

1,114,531 

3,984,659 

,259,846 

265,298 



110.000 
1,114,531 

299,510 
97.370 
16,156 



Flaxseed. Hay <fe Forasre 



425,000 
518.566 
302,010 
354,951 



460,000= 
3.435,656 

2,287.875 

1,554.913 

188.792 



^Dakota Territory prior in 1889. ^This acreage does hot include wild hay. 



The following table shows for 1909 and 1899 the percentage which 
the farms reporting specified crops formed of all farms, the percentage 
of improved land devoted to these crops, and the percentage of increase 
or decrease in the acreage of each crop during the decade, together with 
the average yields and average values per acre for 1909: 

Table 1S>. 



CROP 









Corn 63.5 

Oats 58.1 

Wheat 50.9 

Emmer & Spelt. ... 17.5 

jBarley 87.0 

Flaxseed 18.8 

Hay & forage 70.7 

Potatoes 57.7 





6^ 






^05 


"^'35 










<£)0 


'-' O 










> 
















"53 ' 


















(U o 


ttJ o 




c >■= 




0^=^ 


bDcS 


tmcd 




So2 




OcsS 


t^ 


ci 








^u 


> a 


> 2. 




Oh 




< 


< 


65.8 


12.9 


10.6 


70.3 


27.3 Bu. 


$12.95 


61.9 


9.8 


6.1 


125.5 


28.0 Bu. 


10.29 


79.1 


20.3 


35.3 


19.3 


14.6 Bu. 


13.33 




1.6 






23.5 Bu. 


10.12 


34. i 


7.0 


2.7 


272.1 


20.1 Bu. 


9.76 


20.5 


3.3 


2.7 


71.7 


9.2 Bu. 


13.50 


83.9 


21.7 


20.3 


50.2 


1.6 Tons 


4.44 


63.0 


0.3 


0.3 


49.1 


68.8 Bu. 


39.31 



Of every hundred farms, 71 report hay and forage; 6 4 report corn; 
58, oats; 58, potatoes; 51, wheat; 377, barley; 19, flaxseed, and 18, 
emmer and spelt. Except in the case of barley, the proportion of 
farmers reporting each of the specified crops for which complete data 
are given is smaller than it was ten years ago. The eight crops in- 
cluded in the above table cover about 77% of the improved land of 
the state. The most important relative increases in acreage related to 
barley, o ats, flaxseed, and corn.32 Fruit growing for local markets is 

nraotl^^S ^^^^^ «^o?i'''i'' °^ extensive wheat farming similar to that formerly 

Cmiulr T T 7^"2^"f^ ,^^?J?.*" ths northeastern corner of our area, see 

No ■ h Coli oi the^f.'[i^Mi?/^ «°''^' °/ Jh?. y^"^y «f the Red River of thi 
.Noitn, 1..011. of the State Hist. Soc. of N. Dak., Vol. Ill, pp. 529-672, 1910. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 123 

important in parts of the Black Hills having a long frostless season. 
Clover and Timonthy thrive at relatively high altitudes where much snow 
falls and are the chief forage crops there, as is alfalfa on irrigated land. 
Agriculture was commenced in 1876, the first season after the arrival of 
many prospectors in the Black Hills, in the valleys of Rapid and Spring 
creeks. -'3 

The close relationship between crop yields and i)recipitation has 
been discussed in the chapter on climate and the relationship between 
yields and soil in the chapter on the bio-geography. 

Dry Farming:. Where the rainfall is not always sufficient for the 
growing of crops by the methods used in moist regions, considerable 
quantities of wheat, flax, and some other crops, are grown by the method 
called dry farming. Dry farming consists in pre])aring the soil so that 
almost all the moisture that falls is absorbed, and in hindering the sub- 
sequent evaporation of this moisture by a thin layer of dust on the 
surface, produced by repeated harrowing. Caked soil loses its water 
by evaporation much more rapidly tlAn dust-covered so'l In the drier 
parts of South Dakota there are fifteen inches of rainfall a year on the 
average. Since cereals require at least nine inches for their develop- 
ment, it is obvious that from an area watered by rainfall and melting 
snow alone, very little can be allowed to escape if crops are to be grown. 
Under natural conditions nearly all of the fifteen inches that does not 
run off in streams (and much more than that amount, if it were avail- 
able) would evaporate. 

Differences in the yields from near-by fields seeded to the same 
crops in a dry year are due to (1) the nature of the soil (whether or 
not it cakes after showers), (2) the thoroughness of cultivation after 
heavy rains (the formation of the dust layer (, or (3) the time of plant- 
ing, the preparation of the land, and the method of planting. 

IiTis'ation, In dry regions the soil in many places is very rich" in 
the mineral elements of plant food, as salts (rotash, nitrates, and phos- 
phates), accumulate near the surface, instead of being leached out 
and washed away by the run-off as may occur in well-drained parts 
of wet regions. Therefore, when the water supply is sufficient, crop 
yields are likely to be large in dry regions. These bounteous yields 
combined with the good markets for produce furnished by the mining 
population and the stock ranches are incentives to irrigation in parts 
of the state. 

Most of the streams leaving the Black Hills were used early for 
irrigation, especially near Edgemont, Rapid City, and Spearfish. The 
first large pro.iect was that at Bellefourche, which was developed by 
the Federal government and completed in 1912. A tributary named 
Owl Creek, having a wide vallev, was dammed and a large sunply of 
water diverted from the Bellefourche River is stored there. From this 
reservoir, 100,000 acres are irrigated. Other projects irrigated and 
favorably reported on by the government experts are in the Grand 
River Valley, in the Little Missouri Valley, and along Moreau Riveiv 
Lack of funds has prevented work on these projects to date. 

Some of the private projects are (1) the irrigation of parts of Rapid 
River Valley (40,000 acres between Rapid City and the Chevenne River), 
(2) "the Cheyenne project," involving parts of Stanley County, and (3) 
irrigation by pumping, (a) along the Missouri River by the use of 
water power, and (b) along the Little Missouri Valley by power gen- 
erated from the lignite deposits found in that part of the state. In 



s^Thirtcenth Cens5us Supplement for South Dakota, p. 625, ( Wa.shingrton, 
ini3): 191.3 Year Book of the Department of Asiiculture, (^Vashin^ton, 1914). 
^'Tallent: loc. cit.. p. 314. 



124 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



1910'-t 500 farms, 0.6% of the farms of the state, were irrigated. The 
irrigated area, 63,248 acres, was 4% of the improved land in farms. 
Less than half the area in irrigation enterprises and less than one- 
fourth of tho acreage of projects being developed was irrigated in 19 09. 
Of the 63,248 acres irrigated, GO^r were in individual or partnership 
enterprises, 21.5 9?- in co-operative enterprises, 10% in commercial en- 
terprises, and less than 9% under the United States Reclamation Ser- 
vice. Since the Bellefourche project was completed, the acreage under 
the Reclamation service alone exceeds greatly the total irrigated acreage 
of 1909. The total irrigated area of the state is now more than 210,000 
acres. The sources of water used in 1909 were streams (75.4%), reser- 
voirs (21.4%), wells (2.3%), springs (0.6%), and lakes (0.37%). 
The chief irrigated crops in order of value of product were alfalfa; 
"wild, salt or wheat grass i"-'^ timothy and clover; oats; potatoes; wheat; 
orchard fruits; and corn. 

(e) Drainase. When drained, wet lands are changed from breed- 
ing places of mosquitoes and diseSse to agricultural land of more than 
average value because in lowlands as in drylands, valuable salts and 
organic sul)stances accumulate. As long as land not requiring drain- 
age could be obtained cheaply, drainage was practiced little. With the 
rapid rise in land values since 1900, there has been a great increase 
in drainage. Thousands of short, open ditches have been dug to 
drain "lake bods," and a few large projects for the reclaiming of 
bottom lands have been carried out. Large areas in the flood-plains 
of the Missouri (between Vermilion and Yankton) Vermilion, Sioux, and 
Dakota rivers have been drained. An increase in the length of the 
Vermilion River, produced by the shifting of the Missouri River in 1881, 
decreased the gradient and transporting efficiency of the former stream, 
and resulted in a higher water table and increased flooding of the lower 
pai't of the vallev. The crooked stream has- been replaced by a large, 
nearly straight ditch eleven miles in length, with the result that the 
bottom lands for a dozen miles have been drained, at an average cost 
of $33 per acre. 

( 2 ) Milling and Quarrying; 

Mining and quarrying are very subordinate to agriculture both in 
the numbers of persons employed, and in the value of the output. The 
minerals secured, the distribuiion of the mines, quarries, and undeveloped 
mineral resources, statistics of production, and other relevant matter 
are treated in chapter three. At this point certain supplementary matter 
is presented. 

In 19 09''' more than 95% of the value of minerals produced (water 
excepted) came from "gold and silver deep mines," which employed 
about 95% of the 4,169 persons engaged in this industry, and took 90% 
of the 16,400 primary horse power used. There were ten sandstone 
(including quartzite) quarries, four of granite, two of gypsum, two of 
limestone, one of mica, one of tin, and three placer gold dredges. The 
value in 1910 of the produce of the minor branches of the industry was 
$311,477, in contrast to $6,120,970 from the "gold and silver deep 
mines." 

( 3 ) Lumbering 

The Black Hills are nearly covered with western yellow or bull 
pine, and lumbering has been carried on there ever since the region 
was populated by white men. The first sawmill was brought to Custer 
and put in operation in February, 187 6.:*^ Deadwood had two sawmills 



■•"Supplement for S. Dak.. U. S. Census, 1910, p 651 
™S<»e "The Wheat Gras.s Association," p. — . 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 125 

and two planing- mills in 1882.^'^ Almost all of the lumber is consumed 
in the Black Hills region, as the timbering of the mine shafts requires 
large quantities. Two million feet of lumber are used annually in tim- 
bering the Homestead mine.'-' The Black Hills National Forest of almost 
1,300,000 acres has been the scene of much good expeirimental work 
in lumbering and forest management by students of eastern schools of 
forestry and by government specialists. In the literature of American 
scientific forestry it holds almost as iirominent a position as the Black 
Hills region does in the literature of geology. 

In the valleys of the eastern part of the state there are groves of 
hard woods and cottonwoods, and on the uplands there are many groves 
which have been set out.^'^ Although the=e trees are of great value as 
a source of supply for posts and firewood, •n and as a i)rotection from 
wind and sun, very little lumbering has been carried on recently due 
to the small size of the groves or of the trees. 

Before the coming of the railroads many buildings were constructed 
of logs.-*- and sawmills and shingle mills were somewhat numerous, the 
first sawmill in the territory being erected at Sioux Falls in 1857.4'' 
The first machinery in Lincoln County was a shingle cutter put in 
operation on the Sioux River in ISfiS.-i-t There were several steam saw- 
mills in the Sioux and Missouri bottoms by 1870. Most of the sawmills 
had shingle mills attached, and lumber could be obtained at from $15.00 
to $25.00 a thousand feet and shingles at $4.00 per thousand.^"' The 
census of 1885 recorded thirty-three sawmills in the Territcrv of Dakota, 
"While the census of 1910 reports but three custom mills in the state. 

( 4 ) Manufacturing 

In South Dakota manufacturing has developed slowly, partly because 
of the iJroximity of the manufacturing centers at Sioux City, Iowa, and 
Minneapolis. For many years the manufacture of such products as 
flour and meal, lime, brooms, binder twine and butter has been carried on. 

The first grist mill in Dakota was located on the Sioux River, 
three miles east of Elk Point, in 186 9. There was only one in Clay 
County before 1870, but several were built there that year, and several 
in Union County. ^'^ The first flour mill in the western part of the state 
was erected at Deadwood in 18 81.4" In 1882 there were several flour 
or feed mills run by water power in this area; one at Bigstone, run by 
Whetstone Creek ;48 two at Canton, run by the Sioux ;4o the third largest 
flour mill in the world at Sioux Falls ;>" a grist mill at Olivet, driven 
by the Dakota River ;"^^i a feed mill near Springfield, driven by Emanuel 



'■"'V. S. Census: Supplement for S. Dak., pp. 676, 677, ( Washing-ton, 1913). 

■•••Tallent: The Black Hills, p. 269. 

'^Polks Gazetteer for Minn, and Dak. for 1882, p. 952, (Detroit, 1882). 

3»TalIent: loc. cit., p. 513. 

i^The census of 1910 recorded that 2,600 farms (3.4% of all farms in the 
state) reported forest products in 1909, the total value being" $257,000 in in- 
crease of 1427o over 1899. 

*'Trees were planted at various points by 1866 (Poster: loc. cit., ji. 91), 
and very extensively during' the early 1880's under the stimulation of "the 
tree claim act." 

•-Aim strong-, M. K. : History and Resources of Dakota, p. 33, (Yankton, 
1S66J. 

^-lAndreas, A. T.: Historical Atlas of Dakota, n. 136, (Chicag-o, 1884). 

"Poster. .1. S. : Outlines of the History of Dakota, p. 45, (Yankton, 1870). 

«rbid., p. 91. 

*»Ibirt., p. 45. 

••"Andreas: loc. cit., p. 123. 

"Polk's Gazetteer for 1882, p. 913. 

"Ibid., n. 9?.2. 

•'■"Ibid.. J.. 1096. 

'•'Ibid., p. 1066. 

•■•-Ihid., I.. 1105. 



126 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

Creek; 52 and a flour mill and feed mill at Deadwood, run by Deadwood 
Creek. 5s in 1883 a mill was erected at Rapid City and run by Rapid 
Creek. •'■'■1 At the census of 18 85 there were 85 flour and grist mills in 
Dakota, and in 1889 81 South Dakota towns had such mills. ss in 1910 
there were 91 such mills in the state, producing Zi.7% of the total 
value of manufactures for the state. s^ 

Dakota had twenty-six creameries, five broom factories, and six- 
teen breweries in ISST,'^'" and twenty-five South Dakota towns had cream- 
eries in 1889.''-- In 1910 there were ninety-five creameries in the state 
producing 18% of the total of manufactures'"'^ This great increase in the 
number of creameries between 1889 and 1910 is a manifestation of the 
diversification of agricultural practices already mentioned. 

Plants for making plaster of Paris, stucco, and pressed brick, and 
for preserving meat, have been put in operation more recently. Pork 
packing is being undertaken on a large scale. A plant costing a half 
million dollars was completed in Sioux Falls in 1911, and another costing 
a million dollars was completed there in 1913. Sioux Falls is the South 
Dakota city most favorably located in respect to the section of the state 
in which most corn and hogs are grown. 

The census reported in 1909, 5,226 persons engaged in manufacturing, 
adding $6,334,000 in value to raw material worth $11,476,000. Both these 
figures show an increase of nearly 46% per cent over the corresponding 
figures for 1904, the latter an increase' of more than 100% over those 
of 1899, due partly to the rapid rise in prices during that decade. 

The following table (20) gives the more important statistics con- 
cerning manufacturing in South Dakota for 1904 and 19 09.'''^ 

^^Ibid., p. 952. 

'^'Tallent: loc. cit., p. 427. 

n^Hagerty: The State of South Dakota, p. 80. Aberdeen, 1889. 

tV,- ^- Census: Supplement for S .Dak., p. 671, (Washington, 1913). 

■^'McClure, P. F. : Resources of Dakota, p. 278, Aberdeen, 1887 

^'■Hagerty: loc. cit.. p. 80. 

'^"'Census Supplement for S. Dak., p. 671 

""IT. S. Census: Supplement for S. Dak., p. 672. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



127 



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12 8 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

Nearly all the manufacturing done in South Dakota represents the , 
attempt to supply local demands or to prepare the raw mater als pro- I 
duced in the region for market elsewhere. The chief industries involve I 
local agricultural products, the preceding table showing that about 51% 
of the total value of manufactured products is furnished by the milling, 
baking, and dairy industries, to which should be added much of the 
11.2 Vr accedited to "other industries," the most important of which 
is i)ork packing. 

( 5 ) Commerce 

Commerce is favored by an excess of some commodity or commodi- 
ties in demand elsewhere, and facilities by which the surplus profitably 
may be transported to and sold in the areas in which it is wanted. Sim- 
ilarly, commerce is favored in any region where the population, desiring 
various articles not supplied in sufficient abundance in the locality, has 
the means and opportunity to import. In most cases such means are 
secured by the sale of other commodities of which an excess is pro- 
duced. In many new areas there is importing before there is exporting, 
the imported goods being paid for out of wealth produced elsewhere 
and sent (loaned) to the area or bought by the new settlers. In years 
of short crops, importing is likely to decrease because of the reduced 
purchasing power of the population. However, in many instances im- 
ports are bought on credit and paid for after a favorable crop year. 

South Dakota is a region of specialized production; a few commod- 
ities are produced in amounts far in excess of local demand, while many 
articles, including numerous necessities, are produced only in small quan- 
tities or not at all. The first factors mentioned above as favoring com- 
merce therefore are operative. Transportation to and from the state is 
chiefly by railroads, there being very little transportation by water, none 
by electric lines (across the boundaries), and -little (for any purpose) 
by roads. There are (191.5) nearly 4,000 miles of railroad in the state; 
west of the Missouri River there are about 1,500 mi'es. In the eastern, 
more densely populated half of the state, except for portions of the 
Crow Creek Indian Reservation, there are few areas which are more 
than fifteen miles from a railroad station. West of the Missouri, the 
only areas farther than thirty-five miles from a railroad station are in 
southwestern Perkins County and southern Harding County. 

The building of railroads has been facilitated in much of the state 
by the topography, and by certain features of the climate. The slight 
precipitation is an advantage, but the persistent and often high 
wind, the great range in temperature with the consequent large expan- 
sion and contraction of rails and other metal objects, the lack of fuel 
and in some places of suitable water for the engines, are handicaps to 
railroad operation. Another and serious problem is the great fluctua- 
tion in the volume of produce to be handled. The amount of grain ex- 
ported from the zone served by a particular section of the railroad varies 
greatly from year to year, largely due to fluctuations in rainfall, while 
the "up-keep" cost of the railroad is almost as high in a year of small 
traffic as in one of large and profitable business. 

Various phases of railroad building have been considered in the 
earlier parts of this chai)ter. Other .phases will be treated in connection 
with the settlement of the area. 

Electric lines are little developed in South Dakota, due chiefly to 
the relatively small population and to lack of local capital, but in part 
to the general lack of fuel supplies. The only interurban line is that 
between Dead wood and Lead (three miles apart); it is operated by 
hydro-electric power. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 129 

Water transportation at present is of significance chiefly to the 
farmers near the Missouri River in northeastern Gregory and north- 
western Charles Mix counties. There grain is shipped by river steamers 
vo the railroad at Chamberlain. 

Wagon roads are numerous and usually of excellent quality, owing 
to the long season of slight precipitation and the topography, nearly 
level over large areas. The absence in much of the state of rock out- 
crops, sandy areas and trees also contribute to the good quality of roads. 
Chiefly for these reasons little work has been done on the roads. In 
most sections improvement has been limited to a small amount of grad- 
ing to increase the run-off and accelerate drying after rains, and to the 
construction of culverts in the shallow depressions and of bridges across 
the few streams. In the western part of the state many of the less 
frequently traveled roads are little more than trails and lack bridges. 
The graveling or sanding of roads is discouraged in most parts of the 
staie by insufl^cient local supplies of these materials and by the satis- 
faocory character of the dirt roads during most of the year. 

As in the early years of settlement, the leading exports are agri- 
cultural commodities and gold. The chief articles are wheat, flax- 
seed, barley, corn, oats, cattle, hogs, sheep, horses, poultry, eggs, h'Utter. 
flour, packed meat, wool, and gold. The more important articles of im- 
port are manufactured goods, such as farm machinery, vehicles, wearing 
apparel, and fencing materials. 

II. HISTORICAL. GEOGRAPHY OR THE EVOLUTION OF 
PRESENT CONDITIONS 

(A) Introductory: The Period Before General Settlement 

More than a century and a half elapsed between the coming to 
South Dakota of its first whites and the establishment of permanent 
settlement in 1S59; moreover, settlement did not become extensive 
until after 187 8. The period before permanent settlement may be dis- 
cussed under three heads, (1) Exploration, (2) The Fur Trade, and (3) 
River Commerce, as these activities were the chief ones of that period. 
The discussion of these activities will not be limited to the period be- 
fore settlement, however, but will be continued to recent years. 

1. THE GEOGRAPHY OF EXPLORATION 

Situated in the interior of the continent and in the general latitude 
of the Great Lakes, and possessing fur-bearing animals, it was natural 
that the first white visitors to the South Dakota region should have 
been French fur traders. These dauntless but practical men went out 
from the French posts on the Great Lakes'ii progressively farther and: 
farther as the fur-bearing animals nearer to the posts became depleted 
by the reckless methods practiced. The first white man to visit what 
now is South Dakota probably was Le Sueur in 1695. 'J^ It is certain 
that French traders regularly visited the Sioux Valley by 17 00.^3 By 
1748 they had advanced as far west as the Missouri, and planted a 
tablet near the site of Pierre claiming the soil for the king of P'rance."* 
As early as 1755, 'i^ traders of the Hudson Bay Company followed up the 
Red River and down the Sioux and established a post near the site of 



"'Thwaites R G : Mackinaw, Wise. Hist. Coll., Vol. XIV, p. 1-16. 

'^.Johnson, ' Willis E. : South Dakota, A Republic of Friends, p. 103, 
IVterrc 1911 ^ 

•'•'Robinson; Doane: A Brief History of S. Dakota, p. 24, (N. Y., 1905). 

**Ibid p 215. 

noKerr Robt F • President's ,\nnual Address, S. Dak. Historical Society, 
S. D. Dep't. of Hist. Coll., Vol. v., pp. 73-74, (Pierre, 1910). 
Slg.— 9. 



130 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

Elk Point, close to the junction of the Sioux and Missouri valleys. 
They were not able, however, long to maintain this remote post in the 
enemy's territory. 

The fur trade necessitated wide wanderings, the trader often visit- 
ing many Indian villages, or accompanying bands of Indians on their 
hunting trips. Therefore when the first scientific exploration commenced 
in 1804, fur traders and trappers had become more or less familiar 
with the Missouri River, several of its tributaries, and even with the 
Black Hills. <■■'! Few of the traders had the inclination or ability to 
write of their travels, so the earliest well known account concerning 
this area records the achievements of scientific explorers. 

Crossed by the Missouri, the largest stream of the northern Great 
Plains, it was natural that this area should have been visited in the early 
days of water travel by parties en route for the Rockies and the Pacific 
Coast. The Lewis and Clark party (1804-06) was the first well known 
one to follow this route. Like many other and less well known parties, «" 
it made only brief stops at points within the area of South Dakota, but 
it named various physical features and perpetuated the earlier names 
of others, and reports of the expedition contain interesting descriptions 
of Indians, the character and abundance of game,Gs aiid other matters. 
The first party to leave the river and travel across country was the 
Hunt expedition, en route in 1810 to Astoria near the mouth of the 
Columbia. This party crossed what are now Corson, Perkins and Harding 
counties. «9 

Such overland travel was facilitated in this region by the topography, 
the sparsity or absence of trees and brush, and the character of the 
herbaceous vegetation. Because of the abundance of nutritious grasses 
and naturally cured hay, parties were not hindered by lack of forage 
from making long trips at any season. 

Northeastern South Dakota drains into Hudson Bay, and was under 
British influence until visited in 1820 by Major Longs' expedition, which 
compelled the removal of English flags and s-ubstituted American for 
British influence. ''-'a 

Dr. Nicollet, delegated by the Federal government to examine the 
geology and resources of the Territory of Iowa, visited in 1838-39 the 
eastern part of the area now known as South Dakota, then a part of 
Iowa, and mapped and named many of the lakes. ^o His glowing de- 
scription of the Falls of the Sioux and of the surrounding area, com- 
ing to the attention of land speculators, led in 18 56 to the first at- 
tempt at permanent settlement in the South Dakota area.'i 



s'^Lewis and Clark record that a French trader named Valle claimed to 
have spent the w'nter of 1802-03 in the Black Hills (Robinson, Dr DeLorme, 
"Editorial Notes," S. D. Dept. of Hist. Coll, Vol. 1, p. 97, 1902). 

"'Prince Maximilian of Wied made e.xtensive studies chiefly in what now 
is N. Dak. in 1833. In 1832 and 1836 Catlin, the celebrated painter of In- 
dians, spent several weeks in the vicinity of Ft. Pierre and of Pipestone 
quarry (Andreas: )oc. cit., p. 90; Catlin: North American Indians). Audubon, 
the noted zoologisf. studied birds and mammals along the Missouri in 1842. 

"•^Andreas: Hist. Atlas of Dak., pp. 88-90, (Chicag-o, 1884), is a reprint 
of what the journal of the expedition contains concerning S. Dak. Coues 
Elliott: The Journal of the Lewis & Clark Expedition New York. 

«»Chittenden, H. M.: "Hist, of Amer. Fur Trade of the Far West, Vol. 1, 
pp. 182-199, (N. Y.. 1904). Irving, Washington: "Astoria" contains a full 
account of the trip. Bradbury and Brackenridge, two skilled scientists, ac- 
companied the Hunt party to the mouth of the Grand River and made many 
observations and collections of considerable scientific as well as general in- 
terest. Their accounts of their experiences are to be found in Thwaites' 
"Early Western Travels." (Bradbury: Travels in North America, Bracken- 
ridge: View of Louisiana). 

""a Turner, F. J.: The Rose of the New West, p. 115 (New York) 

■""Extensive extracts from Nicollet's report on this area occur in the ap- 
pendix of Bradford, Wm. : Notes on the Northwest, (N. Y., 1846) 

"Bailey, D. R.: Hist, of Minnehaha County, S. D., p. 10 (Sioux Falls, 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 131 

Shortly after the discovery of gold in California, there were urgent 
demands for roads, and if possible railroads, to bind the Far West 
with the East. During the 1850s much exploration was carried on at 
the instigation of the government with a view to finding practicable 
routes for such a railroad. The first widespread exploration in the 
South Dakota region was done in 1855-57 under the direction of General 
Warren by H. V. Hayden, subsequently director of the U. S. Geological 
Survey of the Territories. Hayden described the geological formations 
of the area and studied certain types of life."^ Although he did not 
penetrate the Black Hills, he obtained a general idea of their structure. 
In part because of the Black Hills barrier,"' it soon was recognized that 
there were better routes for a transcontinental railroad south of the 
South Dakota region. For years, this area was neglected, while more 
practical routes to the south and north were investigated. 

The next exploration in this area resulted from persistent rumors74 
of the presence in the Black Hills of gold in paying quantities. Al- 
though the Indians, in 1868, had been promised permanent possession 
of this area, an expedition under General Custer was sent in 187 4 from 
Fort Abraham Lincoln, near the site of Bismark, to explore and evaluate 
the Black Hills preliminary to their purchase from the Indians, should 
they prove to be of great value to the whites. "■''> This expedition dis- 
covered gold, but the scientific members were not convinced of its 
abundance. After a more thorough examination of the area during 
the following summer the presence of hundreds of prospectors and of 
much gold was announced."'' A great gold rush followed. 

The underground water supply was one of the motives back of the 
later, and more detailed exploration of the state. Because of the 
character and structure of the underlying rocks, artesian waters are 
readily accessible in many parts of South Dakota, and because of the 
climate, and in many places the soil conditions, such waters are val- 
uable. Therefore, the United States Geological Survey undertook the 
study of this resource, and assigned two geologists. Prof. J. E. Todd 
(already somewhat familiar with the conditions in the state because 
of work on the glacial deposits^^ and as State Geologist)"'^ to the east- 
ern half, and X. H. Darton to the Black Hills Region. In order to 
facilitate their work, many topographic maps were made. The geo- 
logic folios, water-supply papers and professional papers"'-' issued later 
have proved of great value to well drillers, farmers and others, and 



"-Warren, G. K.: Prel. Report of Exploration in Neb. and Dak., 1855-57, 
(Washington, 1875), contain.s several reports by Hayden; also see Hayden's 
"Reports of the Geological Survey of the Territories," and Coues', Elliot: 
"Birds of the Northwest," (Washington, 1872). 

"•'Although military exiJlorations under Generals Warren and Raynolds 
had skirted the Black Hills during 1856-59. the first authenticated penetra- 
tion of tliis area by whites was in 1874 by the Custer expedition. The 
routes taken by these and other expeditions are shown in O'Harra, C. C: 
A history of the Early Exploration of the Black Hills Region, Bull. 4. S. D. 
Sch. of Mines, Plate 1, (Rapid City, 1904). Plates 2-8 are reproductions of 
eaily maps of th«"a region. 

"■•These rumors are treatedi more fully on following pages. 

"=Ludlow: Report of Reconnaisance to the Black Hills in 1874, (Wash- 
ington, 1875.) N. H. Winchell, geologist, and G. B. Grinnell, zoologist, also 
submitted special reports of interest. Ludlow's report is reprinted in Rosen, 
I'.: Pahasapa or the Black Hills, i)p. 27.3-303. (St. Louis, 1899). 

""Prof. .Jenny with Henry Newton as geologist, set out for Ft. Cheyenne 
Mav 29tli. 1875, under the military escort of Col. Dodge, (Tallent, A. D. : The 
Black Hills, p. 124, [St. Louis, 1809], Dodge, R. I.: The Black Hills, p. 10, 
[N. v.. 1876.]) 

"Todd. .T. K. : Bulletins 280 andi 298 of the U. S. Geol. Survey. 

'"Bulletin I, 1894, of the state survey, a general report on the g-eology 
of the state probably did more to make widely known the geology of the 
state than any other publication. Bulletins 2-4 also are chiefly or partly 
by Prof. Todd. See chapter on geology and physiography, p. — . 

'^Listed in the chapter on geology. 



132 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

"Barton's "Geology and Water Resources of South Dakota"*'^ contains 
an excellent summary of these subjects. 

2. The Geography of the Fur Trade 

As noted in the previous section, the fur trade was established 
early in this region. It was of special importance between 1808 and 
1837, "1 although nearlv destroyed by the war of 1812-14 s-' Before 
1808 bison were so numerous east and south of the South Dakota area 
that the fur trade of the "Sioux Country" was chiefly in the more val- 
uable, less bulky, and more easily transported furs of the beaver, mink, 
and otter. These' animals probably were originally less numerous here 
than in the more humid areas to the east, but in the latter they were 
killed off so rapidly that by 1800 there were more in parts of the South 
Dakota area than in many sections farther east. Furthermore, furs 
obtained from Dakota we<re (and are) more valuable than those se- 
cured in nearby states to the east and south. s' The greater severity 
of most winters in South Dakota, the light snowfall of most years, and 
the persistence of the wind, are probable re-asons for the difference. 

During the height of the fur trade in this area, the hides of the 
bison were the chief skins secured. The abundance in early years of 
bison in this region was due in part to geographic conditions. The 
plains are grass-covered in response to climatic conditions, and this 
grass, esjiecially the varities called "buffalo grass," is cured by dry 
weather in late summer. As there is little rain during the colder 
half-year to leach out the nutriment, most of it remains in the 
standing blades until the arrival of spring rains and new grass. 
Small snowfall, high rate of evaporation, and hard winds, iiermitted 
winter grazing on the naturally cured hay. The presence of alkali soils 
here and there throughout the area and of salt lakes in the western 
part,«4 made it unnecessary for the bison to migrate long distances for 
salt, as they had to do in some sections of their range. 

The Indians of the Plains depended largely on the bison, and, where 
the latter were plantiful, the former were likely to be numerous. They 
supplied the fur traders with many skins and were so important in the 
fur trade of this region that the small-pox scourge of 1837, which 
almost depopulated several villages, perhaps was a potent influence in 
the decline of the fur trade. '^■'' 

Many trading postssu were maintained at one time or another in 



soDarton, N. H. : The Geology and Water Resources of S. D., U. S. Geo!. 
Survey, Water-supply paper 227, (Washington, 1909.) 

"■Chittenden, H. M. : The American Fur Trade of the Far West, Vol. Ill, 
(N. Y. 1902.) 

s^Kerr, Prof. Robt. P.: President's Ann. Address, S. D. Hist. Soc, S. D. 
Dept. of Hist., Coll. V, p. 76, 1910. 

'*'So indicated in the price quotations from reputable St. Louis fur pur- 
chasing firms. 

"'Salt springs reported from what now is eastern N. D. are said to have 
been the source of salt manufactured by pioneers in the region during the 
late 1860's. (Batchelder Hist, and Resources of Dak., p.38, (Yankton, 1870.) 

'"Chittenden: ^oc. cit., Vol. II, p. 626. 

""The following list mainly from Chittenden of fur trading posts arranged 
in order uj) the Missouri River is of interest: (1) "Big Sioux Post," near the 
mouth of the Sioux River; not long maintained. (2) "Vermilion Post," near 
the mouth of the Vermilion River; (3) "Dickson's Post," near the site of 
Heckling. (4) "Rivere a Jacques Post," near the mouth of the Dakota River. 
For a time the Columbia Fur Company and tlie American Fur Company each 
maintained a post in this vicinity. (5) "Ponca Post," just above the mouth 
of the Niobrara River. (6) "Fort Mitchell," (1833-37). some where in what is 
now Gregory county. (7) "Handy's Post," near the site of Fort Randall. 
(8) "Traudeau's Post," or the "Pawnee House," (1796-97), below the mouth of 
the White River near the site of Wheeling. (9) "Fort Recovery," on American 
Island near Chamberlain. (10) "Fort Lookout," some ten miles above the site 
of Chamberlain, built sliortly before 1822. (11) "Fort Kiowa," (1822-33), near 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 133 

this region. Some were called forts, although the first fort garrisoned 
with troops was established in 1855, by which time the fur trade had 
nearly disappeared. 

Nearly all, or quite all, of the fur posts were on streams; a large 
majority were on the Missouri River, and most of them were near the 
mouths of tributaries. This distribution reflects the importance of the 
water routes in transporting furs to market The exact location of 
many posts appears to have been influenced by groves, which furnished 
fuel. It is said that the chief post of the region. Fort Pierre, -<■ at 
the mouth of the Teton River, owed its importance largely to its central 
location in the Sioux Country, its proximity to large Indian villages, and 
"the presence of a fine bottom a mile wide and six miles long."^'* The 
last doubtless was a minor influence, since there are many similar bot- 
toms elsewhere. 

The extermination of fur-bearing animals In most parts of this 
region probablv came more promptly than in some other areas because 
of certain geographic conditions. In a region having frequent un- 
favorable seasons such as occur in the steppe, native mammals are less 
prolific than are closely related forms in regions of more uniform and 
less seveo-e climatic conditions. Furthermore, the mamalian population 
of such a steppe region probably is less numerous than that of other 
areas. Even if the animals originally were as numerous and as prolific 
in the South Dakota region as alsevvhere they doubtless would have been 
exterminated sooner than in certain other sections. In a grassy region 
of slight relief, large animals may be seen from a distance, as can 
streams, ponds, and other places favorable to semi-acquatic fur-bearing 
species, and thus the extermination of such animals is facilitated. 

The fur trade was "about over" by 1855, when the American Fur 
Companyso sold to the government the most important post, Fort Pierre, 
which became the first military post of the region. The price paid, 
$45,000"'! suggests the size of the post and the value of the fur trade 
in earlier years, when the post was built. 

The slaughtering of bison for their skins continued to have some 
importance until the early 1870's, but by 1874 so few remained that 
the Custer Expedition saw none between the site of Bismark and the 
Black Hills, although it passed near what two years later was con- 



Fort Lookout. (12) "Fort France," (1845-46), near the mouth of Medicine 
Creek. (13) •L.oisell's Post" (1803-u-i), 35 miles below the site of Pierre. (14) 
"Fort George" (1842-46), some 14 miles above the preceeding site. (15) "Fort 
Tecumseh" (1822-32); (16) "Fort Pierre" (1832-55), both near the mouth of 
the Teton River and neai- the site of the city of Fort Pierre. (17) "Old Fort 
Ueorgt,' near the mouth of the Cheyenne River. (18) "Aricara Post," in the 
village of the liee Indians near the mouth of the Grand River. "In addi- 
tion scatteredi throughout the "Sioux Country" on both sides of the Missouri 
there were many subordinate iiosts or houses of the American Fur Company 
dependent on Fort I'icrre. There were at least three or more in the valley 
of the .James River (Riviere a .Jacques). There was one at the forks of the 
Cheyenne and others on Cherry Creek and the White River." (Chittenden: 
loc. cit.. Vol. Hi. pp. 952-955). 

"•Cnittenden: loc. cit.. Vol. HI, p. 955. 

'"'Ibid., p. 955. 

"'•'The Missouri River Fur Company was the first important company in 
this region. It was organized in St. Louis in 1808, and took over several 
posts, including the one a short distance above the site of Ft. Pierre. Poj't 
Teton, near the mouth of the river of that name and near the site of Ft. 
Pierre, was established by a fur trader in 1817. In 1822 it was replaced by 
Fort Tecumseh built by the Columbia Fur Company. In 1828 the American 
Fur Company absorbed this comjjany and' became dominant in Dakota fur 
trade. '1 w o other fur companies "The iNortli western" and "The Rocky Moun- 
tain had engaged in the fur trade of this region. King's Handbook of the 
United States, p. 789, (Buffalo, N. Y., 1894). 

""Wilson, Frederick: Old Fort I'ierre and Its Neighbors, S. Dak. Dept. of 
Hist. Coll., Vol. 1. 1). 279. (Pierre. 1900). 



134 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



%t!Ll:e'!t'\L'ltlnVn^^^^^^^ -'^^e.u The dis- 

the middle 1860's of breach-loading rifles "^ '"^ '^" introduction in 

area bSo/e" ^het^tabSshme^'^f S^3e?S:^^ ^-- this 

therefore influenced settlement li tie I 1 thl'^'n''^'^' settlement and 
decades before towns were founded althmLh ^.!}^ ^^^^ abandoned 
them towns since have been bui t ' ThS? "^ ?'^ ^^^ ^'^^^ «f some of 
Pierre, Flandreau and Vermilion ""' ^'"' *" *^^ ^^^^ of F^ort 

mink'Td iL'i: i-t^ed^rtr^irs^ir^f^the^^rr"^' ^^^ --^-^^ 

tur^t^rade. and their furs helped ^y' ^^^tr^^to^eZ.^!^. 

3. RIVER COMMERCE 

water'it^a^ l^rTJ a?er'^^Ste:Le?s'".;ever v"7""j *^^ ^^^ -P-tant 
Dakota river,02 although thevTLi n .^''^''''^^ ''^ ^"^ other South 
1881,03 as there is today Each of th'^T'' ?'' ^'^ ^'^"^ Lake in 
floated the canoes of fu? traders o. Is thevh"' '^^^ streams doubtless 
launches of today. Howev^ no rJnJ^f X^^"" *^^ ^^^ ''"^ boats and 
loaded or unloaded rafts o^bolTs lfa°^c'om o"[gM ^ '"' '^^^^"^ '^'^ - 
sour/lern^o^ "rpe^r^r htv^et^TrniF^^ -' ^^ -^^- 

:^^r^.ira/- rs^cas^rar-^^^ -- -- t^"^"" 

There is record how ver that sCtr^befor/ffvo^' fur-trading boats 
cut from extensive groves a flwrnL^n /v,^^^ -^ quantity of logs, 
were floated down to\srwnyiTth;?pla?e-^^ nver from Yankton,' 

stone!-\o1ntrre ctSTf" the'^te "^^/'f^^^^^^^^*' -^^^ ^ellow- 
«o in 1831. It Visited Fort Teumsechwhi'clf' "' ^°""^ °^^°t^ did 
Pierre in honor of Pierre rhn?p=^H , ! '' ^""^^ rechristened Fort 

following summer this sleamer amended ^ ^^^"^^"ished passenger. The 
of the Yellowstone River S Hencefor tb^° a °'' ^'"°" ^' '^'^ ™o"th 
one or two boats far up the ri^er each 1^1 ™^"'^'. ^"" Company sent 
from St. Louis to the more remote forfs Th ''. "''*^^ ^^^^■''' ^he trip 
entire summer. The quickest triP to Fort i ''^'''" f"^"^ required an 

to market down its channel The totflv.h,^"^"^^/"' /"""^ ^^^^^ ^^^ 
Louis in ]S(!0 was $529,000 nearlv .11 L . -""l *^'^ f"^' ^^^'^^ of St. 
f^^^ver ., ,„at,» ,„„ •,■-■■>„-> -,->'--. --^..e^M^. 

'"-""S^j/'-j!,; ■""■"""""* °™-"«» <•' «'« Great W.3.. „ap ,„, „„. 
'"""LlfSi'- war, °°" "'"""'■ "' "'""■ ""'' '''"'■ ""■ "*'■ -■ ■«• (I--' 

M^ssoun^Hiver vol. l/p.T3t (New^Xr^?^^^^ Navigation on the 

■^ibid:; p.- 18S 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



135 



River and crossed souSern o'akota C '"llT ^^^^^^.^^l the Missouri 
very little. The rush to these eoldfi'.iH- '"^"^"««d its development 
steamers that ascended the nnnP,Mi ■ -^ '"^fleeted in the number of 

19 steamers Passef ?^anktonZ'\he wTun n' '^^'^ ''''''■ ^^ l^^? 
1862, 13; in 1863 IS- in iq7^ on ^ "P the river; in 1861, 11- in 

there we;e on y 4 arrival, nf tl ^^i ^°^ ^" ^^^^' ^^- Prior to 1864 
navigation oi^^^the SJouH ^Ri^e?;" r^S^s' IZ' fsT'^'l'. ^'^ ''^'^ ^' 
arrivals. There was a sharp decline in tL 1867 there were 70 

1867.100 when the Union Pacific R^iiv^ ^^ number of arrivals after 
In 1865, 1.000 passengers 0^00 fon^ nf '^Pf'?^^!?^^ the gold field; 
mills were sent to For? Benton in 1867 40 "|r^'^'"^^''- ^"^^ ^^ ^"^^tz 
12.000 tons of freight had passed SionvPitv f*f "^^^.^ carrying more than 
71 steamers, averaging 260 tons each .n ^^ •^""". '''■'"' I" 1867. 
of cargo, left St. Louis for Fort Benton .nrltL ^^''^>'^"f,. 16.655 tons 

Steamboat navigation nn thJ vf • ^•' *^^^ "PJ'^'" Missouri. ion 

in the Indian War ^ whi h es^ci^nV'?^^^^ °' ^^"^* importance 

Plies and men for ihe severaT torti n nn^ ?h ^t^- ^'^"'"^ 1862-77. Sup- 
veyed chieflv by steamer^ Varinn. i.^ ^^^ Missouri River were con- 
which the most noSd i^'-the oTe of Ts?6'%^f ^f^^ft the Indians, of 
sacred.io. depended on steamboat Vring t'e decaSe mo'l 8^0^ ."^^^- 
City was the great shipnine nninf fnr n-,o i^ne aecade 1870-1880 Sioux 
though after 1872. Xn the Northern P. oiZ'V^-/*' .^°'^' "P the river, 
much freight started up river from the l^ttevni^!^! '''^^ '^^'^"^ Bismark. 
City.105 ^ ^^ "°"^ ^"® latter place instead of from Sioux 

Of mosrof'tr rt?ii;;^^e\ticuitu;arsit;i? ^^r^^^^ °" ^'- -"^---t 

after the coming of the raHroads had c^S^"*^ was nof extensive until 
traffic. Sioux City was reached in 186 8 hJ ^ ^^.^^^l ^^""''^ ^^ ^^^^^ 
(Council Bluffs) and fronrthe east by two iLe^s if lT7^S""V "^^ 
and Bismark were reached in 1872 Yankton in ^ 87 3 n VermiliomoT 
Pierre in 1880. los Transportation nn fi,o\^" ^' Chamberlain and 

and expensive, and Dakota anners Pn„n'''°7' "^'^^^ ^^^ uncertain 
profitably in tAe settled sections othPP.it "°* T'^^^ *^^"' P^^^^^^ 
farmers situated neaer ?o those areas No ™°""' '" competition with 
from Yankton County until 18 73 whpn tL^ f '''f' shipped eastward 
Yankton.i-r, '^ '""H 18/., when the railroad was completed to 

coj^sKierable produce fr„j;'"tL'sar llt^ZlT. lZTt.1 IST^?^^ 

ni, (St. Paul. 1901); ^ l^mpire Builders of the Groat West, pp. 38 

£Tr^a"['ed'rn SiVai?" I^'tIK^ Th^ Blaclf 'i^illt'^').?*''?^- ^'"'^ «--• Vol.2. 
>»=Chittenden: loc. cit., Vol II n 419 ^"^' ^^t" Louis. 1889). 

-ltl^tS^n':'l^c."ci?^- ^ R— '^^'of Dakota, p. 43, (Yankton. 1870). 

>™rTrio"'''''''^' ^"^' °' ^^'^'^°*^' ^- 153, (Chicago. 1884). 
""Foster: loc. cit.. p. 68 

Coll.. Vol. I. pp. 383. 415. 1902 t lerre, fa. D. Dept. of Hist. 

"-Foster: loc. cit., p. 68 
"^Batchelder: loc. cit., pp. 30-31 



136 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

Although the steamers carried but little produce down-river from 
the Dakota area, they brought considerable quantities of supplies from 
the east. The first frame building at Yankton is said to have been 
brought from St. Louis in a steamer. m In 1870, after Sioux City had 
been reached by railroads, there was a steamer plying regularly between 
that place and Yankton which furnished "the cheapest and most expeli- 
tious means of transporting freight to Yankton. "n"' With its help, aver- 
age freight charges on boxed goods from Chicago to Yankton were only 
two dollars per hundred i)0unds in 1870. n'* Thus steamboat traffic had 
some influence on the agricultural development of the area under con- 
sideration. Steamers also influenced the development of certain towns, 
especially Yankton. "The traffic on the Missouri River, which was for 
years an important factor in Yankton's prosperity, as at one time as many 
as forty steamers did business at Yankton, at this time [1883] is very 
small. "11" 

Ileason.s for the Slight Development of River Commerce. Steamboat 
traffic on the Missouri River had little influence on the industrial develop- 
ment of South Dakota, partly because of certain characteristics of the 
river. It is aggrading, swift, crooked, shifting, subject to marked fluc- 
tuations in volume and often very shallow at many points, obstructed by 
many sandbars, and frozen over for a considerable portion of the year. 
"The average velocity of its current has been estimated at three miles 
an hour, and this is greatly increased during the flood season in con- 
tracted portions of the river, frequently reaching five or six miles per 
hour, and forcing the most powerful steamers to use the towing lines. us 
As to fluctuations in volume: Although river steamers of three hundred 
tons burden, 11'' having a draft of about four feet when loaded, i-" normally 
can navigate the river during the open season to the mouth of the Yel- 
lowstone, in the fall of 1862 the water was so low that an ordinary 
steamer could not reach Yankton, and had to .unload its cargo five miles 
below, near the mouth of the Dakota River. i-i At other times the bot- 
toms between Yankton and Sioux City are flooded to a width of ten miles 
in places, as in 1862,i^- 1881,i-3 and in 19 07, and lesser floods are ex- 
pected each year. The magnitude and rapidity of the changes of channel 
are remarkable: "In many cases there is a shifting of two or three hun- 
dred yards in a few weeks into the bottom lands.' i^i The navigation of 
this section of the river usually is prevented for more than four months 
annually by ice.i-^ 

Therefore the steamboats could not successfully compete with the 
railroads, for several reasons which may be summarized as follows: 
( 1 ) While the railroads can operate all the year, the river is closed by 
ice for a third of the year, when, therefore, the railroads have a monopoly. 
(2) As slow as was early rail transportation, it was far more rapil than 
that furnished by boats on the Missouri, which often could make but 
small progress against the current, and were in constant danger of 

'"Holly, F. C: Our Heritage from the Dakotas, p. 84, (Chicag-o, 1890). 

"'^Foster: loc. cit., p. 54. 

""Ibid., p 87. 

"■Andreas: loc. cit., p. 131. 
.n.v,"',¥°'^®^^' °-^"^^'- (Capt. of Engineers): Ex. Doc. House of Rep. 3rd Sess. 
40th Congress, Cong. Serie.s 1368, p. 622. Reprinted in the Collections of N. 
Dak. Hist. Soc. Vol. I, p. 380, 1906. 

""Andreas: loc. cit., p. 85. 

'-"McClure: loc. cit., p. 73. 

'-'Andreas: loc. cit.. p. 130. Many cicres of crops were destroyed by this 

'--Ibid., p. 130. The towns of Yankton and Vermilion were severely dam- 
aged, the property loss being set at $50,000 and $142,000 respectively. Ten 
persons lost their lives. 

'=3Ibid., p. 133. 

'^Howell: loc. cit., p. 628 

'^''Andreas: loc. cit., p. 85.' 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 13 7 

running aground on bars. Because of the frequeincy of such occurrences 
boats could not approximately maintain a schedule. (3) The shallow- 
ness of the river at many points made necessary boats of small capacity, 
while the strength of the current required a relatively powerful engine 
with corresponding fuel supply. This inflexibility is in contrast to trains 
of lengths varying with the needs. (4) The losses involved in steam- 
boat navigation were much greater tlian those to which rail transportation 
is subject. The muddy water, of necessity used by the boats, caused 
many boilers to explode; snags were numerous and severely damaged 
many boats; others, in running with the current, were so thoroughly 
grounded on bars as to be removable only at so great an expense that 
in many cases they were abandoned until a rise in the river, or per- 
manently. (5) The heavy expenses resulting in part from the high wages 
secured by the pilots, who must be highly skilled, and the heavy charges 
demanded by insurance companies, were severe handicaps to river com- 
merce. (GO the ever-shifting channel, together with banks of silt, made 
the problem of wharfage a serious one in most places. The approach to 
the docking place of the boats was, in many cases,, made very difficult 
by bayous, sand, "blow-outs," "gumbo," or steep slopes. The approach 
to railroad depots in nearly every case is enormously easier. i-" 

For the foregoing reasons, steamboats now have little significance 
on the xMissouri. In 19 6 there were only ten steamboats on the Missouri 
River above Sioux City, and most of these were above Bismark.127 The 
only steamboat traffic of moment in South Dakota is the faking of grain 
from various points in the northern parts of Charles Mix and Gregory 
counties to the railroad at Chamberlain, which has been favored for 
decades in possessing a fairly stable water front,, the best for three or 
four hundred miles. 128 

(B) THE SETTLEMENT OF THE STATE 

1. Causes for the Late Settlement of tliis Area 

The first attempt at permanent settlement was made in 1856 near 
the falls of the Sioux. From 18.57 to 1862 many homes were established 
in the Sioux Valley, but all were abandoned between 186 3 and 1865 on 
account of the Indian scare and a permanent settlement was not estab- 
lished until July, 1859, at Yankton. The population of Southern Dakota 
probably did not exceed 2,000 in 1865 or 12,000 in 1870, by which date 
Iowa had more than a million people (1,115,000), and in 1878 it prob- 
ably was less than 60,000. The causes for the delayed settlement of this 
area are in part geographic: (1) As long as lands more desirable in 
respect to location, climate, or resources were available, there was little 
demand for lands in the area of South Dakota. (2) The government 
followed the policy of not attempting to secure title to Indian lands 
until the demand for them was urgent. As a result, the Indians claimed 
all of what now is South Dakota until 1851 when a small strip east of 
the Sioux River was ceded. The next tract obtained from the Indians, 
consisting of much of eastern South Dakota, was declared open to settle- 
ment in July, 1859. The next large tract included the Black Hills, and 
was opened in 1877; the next was opened in 1889 (Fig. 36.) Until the 
Federal government obtained title to the land, it attempted, with a good 
deal of success, to keep would-be-settlers out. (3) Until the railroad 
net was fairly dense, transportation to distant markets was very expensive 



isopor a discussion of causes for the decline of water transportation see 
Barrows, Harlan H. : The Geog. of the Middle Illinois Valley, Bull. 15. 111. 
Geol. Surv., pp. 100-102. (Urbana, 1910); Chittenden: Hist, of the Early 
Steamboat Navigation of the Mis.suuri KiviT, Vol. II, Chap. 39. (New York, 
1904). 

i^Dixon: loc. cit., p. 55. 

i28polk's Gazetteer of Minn, and Dak. for 1882, p. 941. 



138 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 




Fig. -36. Map Showing- the Progressive Reduction of Indian Reservations in 
South Dakota. 




Fig. 37. Historical Map of South Dakota. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 139 

from most of the areas, there being only one s-tream navigable by steam- 
boats and that, for various reasons noted, quite unsatisfactory. (4) 
Droughts and the visitations of devastating hords of grasshoppers, gave 
the region a bad reputation in some quarters and at some periods. 
(5) The Kansas-Nebraska bill accelerated the settlement of those areas, 
especially Kansas, and tended to retard the settlement of other sections 
of the frontier. !-'•' 

(2) THE SETTLEMENT BEFORE 1876 

In 1856, the white population of the area now included in South 
Dakota appears to have consisted chiefly of a few traders and trappers, 
most of them of French extraction, i-'" of whom a majority had Indian 
wives. i-'i There also were some soldiers, and the steamers on the Mis- 
souri River carried a few transients. The first white woman to visit this 
area, the wife of a steamboat captain, came in 1847.i'- 

In 1851 the Santee Sioux Indians, by the Treaty of Traverse de 
Sioux, .1-3 relintiuished their lands situated tc the east of the Big Sioux 
River (Fig. 36) and settlement was made legal in a small area, near 
Sioux Falls, but within the present confines of South Dakota. In 1856 
a party from Dubuque, Iowa, attempted to found a settlement at the falls 
of the Sioux, but was driven away by Indians. It returned the follow- 
ing summer. Early in 1857 the government erected Fort Randall on 
the Missouri River (in what is now Gregory County) and undertook to 
keep the Indians out of deeded territory and to prevent settlers from 
occupying lands still in the reservation. !••* 

(a) The IJeginnings of Settlement. In May, 185 7, a party of land 
speculators from St. Paul, Minnesota, laid out four towns in the Big 
Sioux Valley. I'"' Two of them (Sioux Falls and Flandreau) still exist, 
although they were abandoned from 1862 to 1865 because of the fear 
of Indians, while Medary was burned and permanently deserted in 
July, 1856,1-'; as was Emineza. The falls of the Sioux, enthusiastically 
described by Nicollet, determined the location of the town of Sioux 
Falls, i3' while the Big Bend of the Sioux River and a trading ])ost 
located there in 182 2 determined the location of Flandreau I'S 

During 1858 there was considerable immigration to the Sioux Falls 
region, the first woman settler coming in the summer and the first 
family with children in the fall.i''' That year the Yankton Sioux In- 
dians sold for .'^1,600,0001^" most of the tract between the Sioux and 
Missouri rivers (Fig. 36). On July 10th, 1859, the Indians were removed 
from this area and the reservation was declared opened. Some hun- 
dreds of prospective settlers, who had encamped on the Nebraska side 
of the Missouri River awaiting the opening, immediately crossed over and 
within the next few weeks the towns of Yankton, Meckling, and Vermilion 
were laid out. Elk Point was founded shortly afterm These towns 
were all near the Missouri River, the chief highway at that time: Yank- 



i^Hale, E. E.: Kanzas & Nebraska, p. 234, (Boston, 1854). 

i3» Andreas, T. A.: Historical Atlas of Dak., p. 135, (Chicago, 1884). 

"iRobinson, Doane: A Brief Historv of S. Dak., p. 216, (New York, 
1905). 

i^Ibid.. p. 218. 

'•■"Foster, J. S. : Outline of Hist, of Dak. Terr., p. 7, (Yankton, 1870). 

J»*Blackburn, W. M.: Historical Sketch of N. & S. Dak., S. Dak. Dept. of 
Hist. Coll., Vol. 1, p. 47, 1902; Robinson, Dr. De Lorme: Editorial Notes 
on above sketch. Ibid., p. 116. 

'•'^Armstrong, M. K. : Early Empire Builders of the Great West, p. 27, 
(St. Paul, 1901). 

i3«Andreas: loc. cit., p. 96. 

'■■"Bailey: loc. cit., p. 216. 

i3«Robinson, De L. : loc. cit.. p. 728. 

'^•Andreas: loc. cit., p. 96. 

""Robinson, Doane: loc. cit., p. 219. 

"'Foster: loc. cit., pp. 8. 46. 



140 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



ton near the mouth of the Dakota River on a low terrace being eroded by 
the Missouri River and hence affording fairly good wharfage; Meckling| 
near the river in a large area of unforested plain between Vermilion 
and Yankton; Vermilion at the foot of the bluffs at the mouth of the 
Vermilion River: and Elk Point on the flood-plain at the junction of I 
the Sioux and Missouri valleys, and not far from those streams. Dur- 
ing isr)9, ISeo, and 1861 there were good crops and rather rapid 
settlement n- As a result, there was considerable agitation for terri- 
torial government, this area having been left without government wheia 
Minnesota was admitted in 1S58. 

Late in 1861 Dakota Territory was created bv act of Congress, and 
in 1862 Yankton was selected by the first governor as the capital. A 
census taken in June, 18 62, just after the organization of the territory, 
revealed a population of .-,402,i*s distributed as follows; Sioux Falls, 
40; Clay and Union counties, 69 6; Yankton County, 287; Bonhomme 
County, 163 ;m and the balance chiefly in the Red River Valley in what 
is now North Dakota. 

Four counties were organized in 18 62, Union. Clay, Yankton, and 
Bonhomme, all on the eastern border of the Territory. Two additional 
counties were organized before 1871 in the Sioux Vallev: Lincoln County 
(1867), just north of Union and Clay counties, and Minnehaha County 
(1868), containing Sioux Falls, just north of Lincoln County. 

In 1862 Congress i)assed the Homestead Act. This statute, later 
of great significance in the settlement of the state, had little immediate 
effect because of the competition of lands farther east, the lack of 
cheap transportation facilities between this area and the settled port- 
tions to the east, and especially the fear of Indian uprisings. 

(b) Hard Times. In August, 1862, two citizens were murdered 
by Indians near Sioux Falls, i + '' Closely following massacres in Iowa 
and Minnesota in which several hundred whites were killed, ni^ pro- 
duced a panic among the frontier settlers of Dakota. "So many re- 
turned to the Eastern states, that the area was almost depopulated."!^' 
More than three-fourths of the settlers fled, according to one writer, i^s 
and another stated that only three hundred remained in the area.i^s 
The Sioux Valley was entirely deserted from September, 1862, until 
May, 1865, when Fort Dakota was erected at Sioux Falls. It was 
kept well manned for four years. i"-" It was net until 1866 that farmers 
returned to the Sioux Valley. I'l In Bonhomme, the westernmost county, 
the settlements began in 1860, and comprising 200 persons in Septem- 
ber, 1862, were deserted; eight years later the population of the county 
was only 500.i"52 The panic stricken settlers who did not leave the 
territory gathered in a stockade at Yankton. i^- Experiencing no more 
trouble from the Indians that fall or winter, a few returned to Ver- 
milion, Elk Point, or .Jeffeirson and built stockades at those points. i'>* 
"In the spring and summer of 1863 more settlers were murdered in 
Dakota than before or since. "i"'" In 1864 the Indians continued espe- 



"^Foster: loc. cit., p 10. 

i*3Armstrongr: loc. cit., p. 32. 

^"Andreas: loc. cit., p. 96. 

i«Foster: loc. cit., p. 13- Andreas: loc cit p. 162. 

i^Heston: Hist. & Activities of the People of Dakota, Encyl. Americana. 

"'Blackburn, W. M.: Hist. Sketch of Dak., S. D. Dept. of Hist. Coll., Vol. 

I, p. 52. 

"".Vndreas: loc. cit., p. 99. 

'"Arm.'Jtrong-: Karly Empire Builders, loc cit., p. 35. 

i=«Blackburn: loc. cit., p. 52; Bailey: Hist, of Minnehaha County, p. 31. 

'"Ibid., p. 67; Foster: loc. cit., p. 76. 

"=Foster: loc. cit.. p. 67. 

'^An cl rGtXS i loc cit d 99 

iMRobinson. D.': Outlines of S. Dak. Hist., S. D. Dept. of Hist Coll., Vol. 

II, p. 75, 1904. 

isoFoster: loc. cit., p. 17. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 141 



cially troublesome, there was a severe drought and a devastating visit 
of grasshoppers, and as a result most of thei few settlers left Dakota i"'" 
For these reasons very little was done from 18fi2 to 18(10 "toward ex- 
tending the settlements or following agricultural pursuits, excei)t the 
raising of stock," for which there was a good market at the posts and 
agencies. i'^ 

The following data illustrate the stagnation during this period: 
The population of the Sioux Valley in 1S68 was said to have been less 
than it was ten years previous. i'-' The population of Lincoln County on 
Jan. 1st. 1868, was placed at 33 persons;i'''J two and a half years later 
it had 712. Although Elk Point was incorporated in 1862, it first had 
a store in 1866. 1'^i 

The Indian troubles in this section ended in 1865i«2 when Fort Da- 
kota was erected at Sioux Falls, i"- but the influx of settlers continued 
to be slow for a time, partly because of the very unfavorable reputation 
given the area as a result of the drought and grasshoppers of 1864. 
The worst effects of these blights had been witnessed by several regi- 
ments of Iowa volunteers, members of the second expedition against 
the Indians. i''J The discouraged settlers doubtless circulated unfavorable 
reports also. 

(c) The Fii'st Boom. With the close of the Civil War and the 
growth of a feeling of security from the Indians, stimulated by forts 
and several military expenditions, there was increased interest in the 
frontier. Interest in the South Dakota section develoi)ed for the most 
part after 186 8, at which date Sioux City was connected with the East 
by rail.i'''' With 1869 what may be called the First Dakota Boom set 
in. It lasted until 1873, and was blasted by the devastations of grass- 
hoppers in that year and the year following. The boom of 1869-73 was 
duo to (1) good crops in this area, (2) the approach or arrival of rail- 
roads with a resulting great improvement in transportation facilities, and 
(3) the rapid occupation of lands in Iowa. The following quotations 
suggest the influence of good crops on the settlement: "The year 186 7 
was a prosperous one for Dakota. * * * crops were generally 
good."!'''' "The rush of immigration during 1868 was so great that 
at the close of the year the population of the Territory was estimated 
at 12,0()0."i<'' "The crop of 1868 had be«3n uniformly good, and the 
citizens of the territory in writing to their eastern friends had given 
such glowing descriptions of the country that early in the spring of 
1869 evidence was given of an unusually large accession to the popu- 
lation of Dakota by immigration."!"^ 

Previous to 1869 no organized effort, except that of the New York 
Colony, had been made to bring settlers to Dakota. In July, 1869, a 



'"'Armstrong-, M. K. : Hi.st. and Resources of Dak., p. 47, (Yankton, 1868). 

'^'Poster: loc. cit., p. 14. 

"»Ibid.. p. 68. 

>6»Andrea^: loc. cit., p. 96. 

»8»Andreas: loc. cit., p. 136. 

""Census of 1870. 

"iPolk's Gazetteer for 1881: loc. cit., (Detroit. 1881). 

'"^Foster: loc. cit., p. 26. 

"'^Blackburn: loc. cit., p. 52. 

'"Foster: loc. cit., p. 23. 

"^^Chicago was connected by rail with the Atlantic Coast in 1853. The 
Mississippi Kiver west of Chicago was reached by 1855. Sioux City, was 
connected by rail \vith Chicago in 1868 bv a line up of the Missouri Valley 
from Council Bluffs, and in 1870 by two lines directly across the state. 
Sioux City became the terminus of the railroad because it was favorably 
located on the outside of a great bend of the Missouri River on well- 
drained ground and on the east side of the Big Sioux River, whicli was not 
bridged easilv, and was not crossed until 1872. 

i6«Foster: loc. cit., p. 33. 

'"Andreas: loc. cit., p. 100. 

""Foster: loc. cit.. p. 40. 



142 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



Bohemian colony was organized and several hundred settlers came.i^O' 
Large groups of Norwegians came during the same year. It is said 
that 800 of them left Sioux City for Dakota on June 3, 1869. i«n The 
New York Colony was organized in Syracuse, New York, in 1863, prin- 
cipally through the efforts of Jas. S. Poster and Chas. Van Epps Mr 
Foster was se^nt west in August, 1863, and after visiting Iowa, Dakota- 
Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri, he returned and reported in favor ofi 
Dakota. A special train was chartered to Marshalltown, Iowa, the 
terminus of the line and the railroad station nearest to Dakota. Adult 
members of the association were furnished tickets for the trip for 
$1.">.00, the freight was carried the entire distance for $2.05 per hun- 
dred pounds. Of the one hundred families which started from New 
York, forty settled in Iowa. Many of the sixty families which settled 
in Dakota became disheartened by the drought and grasshoppers of the 
first summer, and left. Six years later, in 1870, only thirty families 
remained. They were distributed along the Missouri Valley mostly near 
Yankton, I'l 

In 1873, a colony of Russian Mennonites settled in Bonhomme 
County. 1-2 Groups of acquainted families had made "colony settlements" 
at earlier dates. For instance, a "colony" of Norwegians from Man- 
kato, Minnesota, settled in Bonhomme County in 1860, it: and more than 
one hundred families of Scotch from Canada settled near Scotland in 
the same county during 1872-74.174 

The influx of settlers was promoted in this period not only by land 
agents, colony organizers, and railroads, but by local imi)rovements in 
transportation facilities. Ferries had been established at various points. 
One across the Dakota River on the route between Sioux City and Fort 
Randall was installed for the special benefit of the troops i^.:. Early- 
settlers of several counties, including Union, Clay, and Yankton also 
kept ferries on the larger streams along the route between Sioux City 
and Yankton. 1 re; These streams wei-e bridged bv government appro- 
jjriation in 186 8, a notable improvement. i" Shortly after the arrival 
of the railroad in Sioux City, a daily stage to Yankton was established 
and in the same season Sioux Falls and Yankton were united by a mail 
stage. iTJ- 

T Transportation was facilitated somewhat bv three government roads, 
in 18b;j Congress had appropriated $85,000 for the opening of three 
wagrn roads through Dakota Territory to the distant mines in the 
S^?.!!5l;<. 2":'^r,^'^.^.^^^'^^^. ^^^^ Missouri Valley from Sioux City to the 

to its 

thern 

is the 



I 



Mouth of the Cheyenne River: another was built up the Cheyenne i 
forks;i.!' a third, the Nobles road, followed approximately the sou 
boundaries of Brookings and Kingsbury counties to what now is ...^ 
northwestern corner of Sanborn County, and thence southwestward to 
the big bend of the Missouri River.i^o Xong ^f these roads reached the 
Rocky Mountains. 

nonnL°tii^ '^ /^^i ^^l^ °^ ^^^'""^^ Territory now in South Dakota had a 
population of 11,.<6.t.i Before the beginning of the Great Boom 

■'■"Sioux City Times, June 3, 18 69. 

^'"Foster: loc. cit., p. 42 

i-iFoster: loc. cit. pp. 19-21. 

"-Andreas: loc. cit., p 146 

"sibid.. p. i:i6. 

"*Ibid., p. 146. 

^"Ibid., p. 146. 

^■"Armstrong: Hist, of Dak., p. 35. 

'"Fester: loc. cit.. p. 35 

^"8Ibid., p. 36. 

ingtZ'\%13')!' ^^"""^ °^ '""^ U.°^S.7'Ab^s^t-ral?'-|o"J- S. Dak., p. 568, (Wash- 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 14 3 

(1878-8 6) only two small parts of the area had a population of two 
or more per square mile. The southeastern corner (the lower Missouri 
and the lower Sioux valleys) had this density after 18 69, dnd the Black 
Hills after 1876. The population in the former section was found chiefly 
on the flood-plains, with a large majority in the Missouri Valley. This 
suggests the significance of the Missouri River as a waterway. The 
relative proximity to more densely populated areas in the east and south 
was also of importance. Between 1868 and 1872, when a railroad was 
extended into Dakota, Sioux City, Iowa, served as a market for such pro- 
duce as was shipped eastward out of the region, and, as the depot from 
which imports were received. Sioux City had a population of 4,000 in 
1870.1*- The population of the Dakota counties in 1870 reflects these 
influences. Union County, in the southeastern corner of the Territory 
and in part within four miles of Sioux City, had a population of 3,507; 
Lincoln, the county next to the north and more distant from both rail- 
road and navigable river, had a population of 712; while .Minnehaha. 
the next county to the north and on the frontier of settlement, had only 
355. Clay County, to the west of Union, but on the Missouri River, 
had a ])opulation of 2,621 ; the next county, containing the capital, hid 
2,097; while Bonhomme County, the next up the valley and on that 
frontier, had only 6 08. 

( 3 ) The (iold of tlie lilack Hills and Its IiiHueiico on Settlement 

The presence of gold in the Black Hills was rumored more than 
three decades before its discovery in 1874. Gold probably was discov- 
ered in 1834 by a party all but one of whom were killed by the Indians. 
This man left a tablet telling of the fate of his comrades, but was not 
heard of thereafter. Nuggets of gold said to have been taken from this 
party were given to traders and to Father DeSmet soon after, and Indian 
traditions support the legend on the tablet. is- Several publications is- 
sued before 1874 treating of the resources of Dakota mention the gold 
of the Black Hills as one of the inducements to settle in Dakota. Even 
before the existence of gold in the Black Hills was established with cer- 
tainty these reports had some influence on settlement. In 187 2 a private 
expedition was prevented by a military force from exploring the Hills. i** 
and settled in the eastern half of the territory. is'^ 

The expedition of 1874 under General Custer, which discovered 
gold, was the first to give a written account of the interior of the Black 
Hills. The Black Hills region belonged to the Indians until Feb. 2 8, 
1877, although they are said never to have frequented the Hills proper, i'"'- 
and until nearly that date they made many efforts to keej) white civil- 
ians out.i^" Until November, 187 5, the tjnited States army also en- 
deavored to prevent trespassing on this Indian reservation. iss The 
goods of many offenders were burned, and the leaders of a number of 
expeditions were imprisoned. i^'i However, the lure of gold was so power- 
ful that in spite of military opposition, Indian resistance, and many 
natural hardships, there were many who attempted to acquire wealth 
in the supposed marvellously rich gold-field guarded so zealously. The 
first party of prospectors that reached the vicinity of the place where 

is^'Foster: loc. cit.. p. 104. 

issTallent, A. D. : The Black Hills, p. jO, (St. Louis, 1899). 

i»«Ibid., p. 5. An expedition had been organized in 1868 to explore the 
Hills but it was broken up by the government, Fostor, J. S.: Outlines of Hist, 
of Dak., p. 35, (Yankton, 1870). 

i^Tallent: loc. cit., p. 193. 

i8"Ibid , p. 111. 

is'Ibid.. pp. 296-808. Even as early as 1857 they zealously guarded this 
:region and prevented an expedition under General Warren from penetrating 
the Hill.-; Ibid'., p. 4. 

i«Ibid., p. 7. The treaty of 1868 had guaranteed this region to the 
Indians for all time. 

i»»Ibd., pp. 86, 130-138. 



144 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

gold was first found, arrived from Sioux City, December 2 4, 1874, after a 
seventy-eight day journey. i^'o At present the trip can be made by train 
in little more than fourteen hours. Two members of this first party 
returned to civilization with some gold late in February, 187 5, and 
spread the "gold fever. "i-'i 

During thei summer of 187 5 there was a considerable influx of pros- 
pectors and the government had the area re-examined by scientists, 
enough gold and other minerals were foundi-'- to warrant the purchase 
of this area from the Indians, but they refused to consider its sale until 
all the prospectors had left. General Crook, in charge of the troops 
engaged in attempting to keep out intruders, invited the prospectors 
to assemble, and after explaining to them the demands of the Indians, 
persuaded nearly all of them to leave the region for the time being. is^ 
When the conference with the Indians proved unsuccessful, almost all 
official hindrance ceased, i-'^ and soon there was a rush of settlers. Eleven 
thousand persons arrived between November, 1875, and March 1st, 
187(3.1:''' Most of the new arrivals flocked to Custer, laid out near the 
original discovery, which became a city of at least 6,000 persons and 
1,400 buildings by the latter date.iou 

The scarcity of gold, the insufficiency of water for washing the 
gravel, the appropriation of more promising localities in the southern 
Hills, and the partial exhaustion of the placers there, encouraged wide- 
spread prospecting with the result that gold was discovered elsewhere. 
In June, 1876, Deadwood Gulch, seventy-five miles north of Custer, was 
found to contain rich placers, and there was a rush to that locality. lo^ 
Custer was almost deserted, and remained an insignificant place for nearly 
a decade.i-''^ Deadwood. in the valley of that name, promptly became a 
city of importance, acquiring a population of 7,000 almost immediately. 
After the discovery of large bodies of ore in the locality, it took on a 
more permanent character. lo" Other cities grew up near various deep- 
mines; Lead, by far the largest city in the Black Hills, is an example. 

The settlement of other parts of the area under consideration was 
affected in various ways by the presence of gold in the Black Hills. This 
was true after 1878 as well as before, and the following discussion is 
not limited to the earlier years. ( 1 ) The most direct effect of the 
gold was that the miners, the speculators, and most of the people sup- 
ported directly or indirectly by them, furnished a market for various 
commodities. In response to the high pricess"" which then prevailed in 
the mining towns, which were separated from railroads by many miles 
of poor trails infested with robbers and Indians, farming and stock rais- . 

>»"Ibid., pp. 20-60. An account of this trip by the authoress, one of the 
memDers of the party. 

'"■Ibid., p. .S6. 

"'-Uosen. P.: Pahasapa or the Black Hills, pp. 597-611, is a reprint of the 
report rendered the governmeint by Jenny, the leader of the party. 

'"■■'Tallent: loc. cit., p. 132. 

'»'Ibld., p. 139. 

ii^Ibid., p. 140. 

i«"Ibid., p. 140. 

Ipli?^"*-'^' ^- C.: Our Legacy from the Dakotas, p. 100, (Chicago, 1890). 

iDsphree years after being- a city of from "6,000-10,000" it had fewer than 
50 inhabitants; Polk's Gazetteer for 1882, loc. cit., p 950 

'°*Deadwood situated in what is almost a canyon, was nearly demolished 
by flood in 18(9, but was promptly rebuilt. It was almost destroyed in 1883 
by fire, and never recovered first place in population, which Lead has held 
since. It still IS the commeroal center of the Hills 

2»«A meal cost seventy-five cents to a dollar in Deadwood in 1876 and 
potatoes twelve to fifteen cents, per pound (Curley, E. A.: The True History 
^i.'h.^r,?'^?^ *^'",^' P; ^^' tChicagc, 1876]). Flour sold as high as $60.00 
^fos^^Af-'^*^*^ pounds. A dozen cats sold at $10.00 apiece, (Tallent: loc. cit., p. 
serviced "(Ibfd ^"p 353) "^'^^ received from $5.00 to $7.00 per day for tlielr 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 145 

ing in the region both reached significant proportions before the area 
was purchased from the Indians. '-'^i 

The more favorably located farmers in the eastern part of the 
Territory also for several years sold produce to this population, and 
freighted large quantities cf supplies from the railroad termini to the 
Black Hills during the period 1880-85. From 1876 until 1880, in which 
year Chamberlain, Pierre and Dickinson (North Dakota)-"- were reached 
by rail, the chief freight and stage lines had their railroad termini at 
Cheyenne,-"' or at Bismark, but from 1880 until 1885, when a railroad 
approached the Hills from the south, Pierre was the most important 
shipping point thence.-"* In 1883 upwards of 26,000,000 pounds of 
freight and 5,000 passengers were carried between Pierre and the Black 
Hills, by the two chief transportation companies-""' by means of twenty- 
four four-horse coaches (run ten per week each way), 1,4 00 wagons, 
more than 3,000 oxen, 850 mules, and 400 horses.-"'' The total amount 
of freight received in the Black Hills after 187 7 is said to have been 
at least forty million pounds a year.^or a large part of the livestock 
used in transporting this freight was reared near-by, and the companies 
secured many other things from the agriculturists of the region. In 
addition to the transporting done by regular companies, goods were 
carried to the Black Hills from Pierre by "farmer outfits." During 
the winter considerable sums were earned in this way by many farmers 
of Hughes and neighboring counties. 

(2) Another way in which the gold of the Black Hills influenced 
the settlement of neighboring areas was by attracting thousands of 
young men, many of whom, after a stay in the mining camps or towns, 
went on ranches or farms, or entered business in one or another of the 
towns seen on the way to the Hills. Indeed, a large majority of the 
"old timers" in the western part of the statei came to the region during 
the gold rush. During recent years many foreigners, brought from east- 
ern cities to work in the Homestake mine, have established agricultural 
settlements near the Hills. There are several colonies of Finns in 
Harding County whose founders got their start in the mines of the 
Black Hills. Many persons who set out for the Black Hills during the 
excitement over the discoveries of gold were attracted by opportunities 
for farming or business in the eastern part of the state, and remained 
there instead of making the costly trip to the gold-field. 

(3) The presence of gold, the excitement its discovery created, the 
numerous encounters with the Indians, and especially the exciting times 
in the mining camps, particularly Deadwood, were described in numer- 
ous newspapers, magazines, pamphlets and books, ^"s as well as by word 



-"Curley: loc. cit., pp. 20-40; Tallent: loc. cit., pp. 296-308. 

-"-Hanson, Jos. MiirS: The Conquest of the Missouri, p. 385, (Chicag-o, 
1909). 

-""United States mail service to the Black Hills was not established until 
after the area was ceded by the Indians, March 1, 1877. During- the pre- 
ceding year a celebrated "pony post" between the Hills and Cheyenne car- 
ried letters at 25 cents each. (Tallent: loc. cit., p. 194-6; Holley: loc. cit., p. 
100). 

-'^'Rosen: loc. cit., p. 117; Amciireas: loc. cit., p. 124. 

•jospQj. a very readable .-iccount of a trli) from Pierre to Deadwood in 
1883 see Maudet-Grancy: Colonels and Cowboys, (London, 1886). The fare 
charged at that time was $20 and it cost 10 cents per pound for baggage 
(p. 34). 

-"•■Andreas: loc. cit., p. 124. 

=^nbid.. p. 125. 

-■«8Tallent, D. A.: The Black Hills, (St. Louis, 1899), gives excellent de- 
scriptions of events in the early days of this region as experienced by the 
capable authoress, a resident of the area from the first, or as related 
bv other i)ioneers. There arc dozens of prcten.siou.s books on the history 
of the Black Hills. Next to Tallent, Rosen, P.: Pahasapa or The Black 
Hills, (St. Louis, 1899), perhaps is the most worthy. An excellent account, 
with county histories, will be found in that compendium of historical lore on 
Dakota, Andreas, A. T.: Historical Atlas of Dakota, (Chicago, 1884). 
Sig.— 10. 



1 



146 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

of moutli. These descriptions advertised this region widely, making 
Dakota a familiar name throughout the country and paving the way 
for the Great Dakota Boom which followed. 

(4) The opening of deep gold mines and the development of othea- 
mineral resources which gave promise of furnishing permanent em- 
ployment for many workers with consequent great and persistent 
demand for commerce, led railroad companies to contemplate the 
extension of their lines to this reigon. It was on a tour of inspection 
of proposed routes to the Black Hills that the president of the Chicago 
and Northwestern Railway became so impressed with the great possi- 
bilities of the area east of the Missouri River that he resolved to try 
an experiment in railroad building. He believed that if railroads were 
built in the Dakota prairies, settlers would flock in, provide a great deal 
of traffic, and so make the railroad investment profitable. This plan 
received the approval of the directors of the company, and also was 
adopted promptly by its great rival, the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. 
Paul Railroad Company. As a result, the Great Dakota Boom was made 
possible. 200 

4. The Great Dakota Boom 

During the period 1879-1886 much of the territory of Dakota was 
settled. What a few years before had been an almost uninhabited 
expanse of prairie, became a fairly populous farming region, soon to 
be admitted as a state. Probably more people moved into the region 
to make farm homes during any two years of the boom than during the 
twenty years which followed its collapse. The increase in population 
of 1907 over 1887 (perhaps 60,000) is less than the increase by birth 
during this period, supplemented by a relatively small immigration, 
mainly to cities and towns. 

Because of the importance of this boom in the settlement of the 
state, it is desirable to consider in some detail the influences, especially 
the geographic influences, which produced, extended, and terminated 
it. Of primary significance was the fact that for several years the 
rainfall came at such times and in such amounts as to permit abundant 
yields. During several consecutive seasons abnormally heavy yields 
were secured in spite of careless preparation of the ground, the use of 
seed poorly adapted to the area, and lack of knowledge (or disregard 
of it) as to when and how to plant, what crops to sow, and how to 
care for them. Had the years 1879-86 been as dry as the eight years 
which preceded and the eight which followed, no such boom could have 
taken place, and had they been as dry as the period 18 89-9 6, most at- 
tempts at settlement would have failed. (See chapter V, Climate, p. 50.) 
A climatic factor of less, though considerable, importance in pro- 
ducing the boom was the "hard winter" of 1880-81 in the Northwest. 
The October blizzard, and the very heavy snowfall which accumulated 
during the winter, were unfavorable to the influx in some respects, since 
they brought hardships to many unprepared homesteaders and tended 
to give the area a bad reputation so far as its winters were concerned. 
In other respects this exceptional winter promoted settlement. The 
ground still was unfrozen when the first snow came, and because of the 
great depth of the snow (averaging more than ten feet, it is claimed) 210 
it remained unfrozen, or was frozen to a slight depth only over large 
areas. In March and April, when the snow melted, the soil and sub- 
soil were saturated with water, and each of the thousands of un- 
dralned depressions of the prairie contained more or less water. Many 



2™Robinson, Doane: A Brief Hist, of S. Dak., p. 157, (New York, 1905). 

""Robinson, Doane: A Brief Hist, of S. Dak., p. 164, (New York 1905). 
This average doubtless applies only to the more eastern part of the area, 
the part in which there were most settlers at this time. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 147 

of them contained water for several years thereafter. As a result of 
this unique snow-fall, the water-table was higher for years, and some 
claim that this influenced crops for several seasons, and there was a 
progressive decrease in yields during several years after ISSl.-^n Cer- 
tain it is that this snow, by creating thousands of ponds and lakes, sug- 
gested a humid climate, a condition highly attractive to prospective set- 
tlers. 

Aside from the relative abundant precipitation of this period, the 
extension of railroads throughout most of the area was of great im- 
portance in starting and maintaining the boom. Without good trans- 
portation facilities, or the expectation cf their being provided soon, the 
boom could not have taken place. Even though wheat, corn, and other 
crops of similar bulk and value yielded exceptionally well, farming 
would not be profitable if the produce has to be hauled many miles to 
market. Development is discouraged also where necessary articles are 
very costly. Because of the lack of timber in much of this region, 
materials for buildings and fences, and other bulky and heavy arti- 
cles, cost so much after being wagoned long distances, that most im- 
provements were discouraged. Only with the help of much fencing and 
many buildings can a region support a fairlv dense human population 
by rearing stock that can be driven long distances to market. 

Before the boom, -the area now included in South Dakota was sev ved 
very inadequately both by railroads and by river transportation. In 
1873 a railroad reached Yankton, the capital, by w^ay of the Mis- 
souri Valley, and the same year one was built west a few miles to 
Lake Kampeska, near the site of Watertown. There were 'no settlers 
in the latter region, and the line was extended to this, the westernmost 
point on the Sioux River, primarily to secure the building company the 
largest possible grant of land, as Congress had granted a land subsidy 
based on the mileage for a line to be built across Minnesota to the 
Sioux River. -'12 in 1874 a prairie fire destroyed the bridges and culverts 
along the western part of this line, and that section was useless until 
these structures were replaced in 187 9.-1'' Sioux Falls, the second largest 
citv of southern Dakota, had no railroad nearer than Worthington, Min- 
nesota, sixty-eight miles distant, -n until late in 1878. Then a line 
was built up the Sioux Valley, connecting Sioux Falls with Sioux City 
and the East.-i- 

There were several results of the insufficiency of markets, due chiefly 
to the few transportation facilities. Most of the few p'oneers found 
in the area not served by the Yankton-Sioux City line (and many of 
those in that region before that line was built), as well as the more 
re'motely located and the poorer homesteaders of subsequent years, "had 
as their main employment the holding down of a claim"2i''. in the hope 
that railroa'^s soon would appear and make their land valuable. Most 
of their buildings were made chiefly of prairie sod, even the roofs, in 
many cases, consisnting of poles and sod. In case a grove of large 
trees was near, as was tha condition along most of the Missouri 
Valley, logs were used in l)uilding. On the ])rairie "buffalo chips," 
hay, corn-cobs, brush were available, and even ear corn at times, were 
burned for fuel. Little fencing was done, and that chiefly with local 



='iFinlev, J. T. : Certain Climatic Features of the Two Dakotas, p. 25, 
(Washin.frton. 1890). 

='2Andreas, T. D. : Historical Atlas oi Dak., p. 158. (Chicago, 1884). 

'-'"Heston, F. W.: South Dakota, Encyclopedia Americana. 

-•'«Holley, F. Q. : Our Heritage from the Dacotahs, p. 39, (Chicago, 1890). 

-•'^Andreas: loc. cit., p. 165. 

^"'Blackburn, W. M.: Hist. Sketch of N. & S. Dak., S. Dak. Dept. of Hist. 
Coll.. Vol. I. p. 43. 



148 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

materials. -1" Only a small portion of the land was tilled, and wild game 
and fruits contributed largely to the larder of the settler. The money 
received from the sale of furs secured in winter appreciably increased 
the income, but until railroads came a large proportion of the home- 
steaders depended in part on earnings secured in other regions. 

In view of the hardships arising from the lack of cheap, expedi- 
tious and reliable transportation, the following quotations appear not to 
involve much exaggeration: "The whistle of the locomotive would be the 
sweetest music a resident of the broad prairies could hear, and the 
mere rumor that a party of railroad surveyors had been seen in a 
particular locality, was enough to fill the heart of every settler with joy 
and cause visions of town-site and county-seat speculations to color with 
all the beauteous hues of the rainbow, his dreams .at night "-i'^ Possi- 
bly some of the remote pioneers thought "every obstacle would flee as 
if by magic at the sound of the locomotive. "219 

The great importance of the railroad to the settlement of this 
area is emphasized in the following quotations: "As a direct consequence 
of progress in railroad construction the increase of the territory in pop- 
ulation and wealth has been phenomenal in the history of the coun- 
try. "2:20 "The greatest factor in the upbuilding of Dakota, next to her 
vast expanse , of productive lands, has been the railroad. * * * 
Gradually the fine agricultural lands and immense stock ranges would, 
no doubt, have been occupied; but without the -railroad it would have 
required a century to accomplish what has been done in five years 
under its powerful influence."--i 

The .railroad companies supplied more than transportation facili- 
ties. They issued descriptive pamphlets to the new-comer, containing 
suggestions of value, and in many cases the railroad company "was 
explorer, carrier, provider, thinker, heart, soul, and intellect. "--2 

A third potent factor in the rapid settlement of Dakota during 
this period was the earlier occupation of much of the more desirable 
land elsewhere, especially to the east. By 18 79 there was available 
in the eastern states little free land as desirable for farming as eastern 
Dakota. The fertility cf the soil of th's area had been established by 
"bumper crops," the topography in most places was more even than 
in most other sections, and, of great significance in creating an agri- 
cultural boom, the land was ready for the plow, it not being necessary 
to clear it from trees, stumps, brush or stones as in most of the unoccu- 
pied areas to the east. 

A fourth factor, not entirely geographic, was that the clean, nearly 
level fields of the prairies of Dakota had distinct advantages over the 
rugged, stony, or stumpy areas so widespread to the east, in the use 
of most labor-saving farm machinery. The self-binding reaper and the 
improved grain separator recently had made large-scale farming possi- 
ble in regions like Dakota. 

In addition to the four factors, chiefly geographic, discussed above, 
at least two others, chiefly non-geographic, were of importance in con- 
nection with the great influx at this time, and they may be remembered 
briefly. (1) As considerable capital was required for constructing rail- 
roads and buildings, breaking sod, and caring for crops, it was of Im- 

1 '^^^u footi^ote on p. concerning- wooden fences in the Missouri Val- 
ley. 1 he groves of trees scattered widely throughout the area contributed 
™°"'^'i»? "^ fence posts until a relatively recent date (p. — ) 

'"1st Ann. Rept. of the Board of R. R. Commissioners of the Ter. of 
Dak., p. 8, (Fargo, 1886). 

^'OHollev: loc. cit., p. 342. 

•^»>Andreas: loc. cit., p. 98. 

^iilbid., p. 100. 

Hist'coTl'.' A^ol.^V. T'lll'Tg'l^. ''^^'''' *° ^- °- ^^^*- ^^^- ^- ^- ^^P*- °' 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



149 



portance that at this time the nation was in a prosperous condition. 
The effects of the panic of 187 3 largely had been overcome, and the 
abolition of the fiat currency (insufficiently supported greenbacks) had 
improved greatly the country's credit abroad, with the result that there 
was a great inflow of foreign capital during this period. (2) Hard 
spring wheats are grown in the region much more succeesfully than 
soft winter whent. The invent'on, shortly before this time, of a milling 
process by which thev could be used in making flour as good as that 
made from soft wheats greatly increased the jrice of hard wheat and 
made wheat-raising much more profitable here than it otherwise would 
have been This increased demand for land, and stimulated settlement. 
The following table contains further facts of interest concerning 
the Great Boom. It gives for various counties the dates (!) of the first 
settlement, (2) the second settlement, (3) by which settlers became 
fairlv numerous, (4) of county organization. (5) of the first railT-oad, and 
( Ci ) when most or all the area was occupied. 



Table 21. Historical Data Conceniinf;- the Counties^^:^ 

Fir.st Second Settlers First Settlement 

County Settlement Settlement Fairly County Railroad Became 

Made Made Numerous Org-anlzed Arrived General 

Aurora 1879 .... 1880 1881 1880 1880 

Beadle 1879 1879 1880 1880 1880 1880 

Bennett 191Z 1912 1912 

BonHomm"^ 1859 1859 1869 1862 1881 1872 

Brookinsfs 1857 1869 1872 1871 1880 1879 

Brown " 1880 1880 1881 1880 1881 1881 

Brule 187:^. 1879 1880 1875 1880 1881 

Buffalo 1881 1881 1881 1871 

Butts 1877 1877 1883 1883 1889 1909 

Campbell 1877 1882 1883 1883 1899 1883 

Charles Mix 1878 1878 1879 1879 1882 

Clark 1879 1879 1880 1882 1882 

Clav 1859 1859 1866 1862 1872 1870 

Codington 1878 1878 1878 1878 1873-79 1878 

Corson 1876 1906 1906 1910 1907 1907 

Custer 1875 1876 1876 1877 1885 1877 

Davison 1873 1873 1874 1873 1880 1879 

Day 1876 1877 1880 1881 1880 1880 

Deuel 1872 1877 187i, 1878 1873-77 1878 

Dewey 1889 1907 1909 1910 1910 1910 

Douglas 1878 1882 1882 1882 1889 1882 

Edmunds 1882 1882 1883 1883 1886 1883 

Fall River 1876 1877 1885 1883 188.5 1886 

Faulk 1882 1882 1883 1883 1884 1884 

Grant 1874 1878 1878 1878 1880 1878 

Gresorv 1857 1894 1904 1898 1904 1904 

HaakoA 1906 1814 1907 1907 

Hamlin 1877 1878 1878 1878 1880 1878 

Hand 1880 1880 1882 1880 1881 

Hanson 1872 1873 1880 1871 1880 1880 

Harding- 1880 .... 1909 1909 .... 1911 

Hua-hes ...18X0 1880 1880 1880 1880 1882 

Hutchinson ....1869 .... 1875 1871 1879 1880 

Hvde 1880 1880 1880 1884 1880 1882 

Jackson .... 1906 1914 1907 190. 

.Terauld .1876 1879 1883 1902 1883 

Kingsbury ....1873 1877 1879 1879 1880 1882 

Lake 1870 1875 1873 1881 . 1878 

Lawrence 1876 1876 1876 1877 1890 18.6 

Lincoln 1866 1^1 1 1878 1867 1878 18.8 

Lyman 1890 .... 1890 189:! 1907 1905 

~ --'The date of organi/.aiToii was -'cured from the tliirteonth census, ex- 
cept in the case of the two counties foinied since then. Tlu- other data 
were gathered from manv sources, more from .Vndreas' Historical Atlas or 
Dakota than from any other single source. The table has been submittf-d 
to Doane Robinson, secretary of the S. Dakota Historical Society, who made 
a numb.M- of additions and cy)rr<'ctinns. 



150 



THE GEOGRAPHY OP SOUTH DAKOTA 



First 
County Settlement 
Made 

McCook 1871 

McPherson 1882 

Marshall 1864 

Meade 1877 

Mellette 

Miner 

Minnehaha ....1857 

Moody 1857 

Pennington ....1876 

Perkins 

Potter 188.3 

Roberts 1881 

Sanborn 1875 

Shannon 

Spink 1879 

Stanley 1875 

Sullv 1«S0 

Tripi) 1904 

Turner 1869 

Union 1859 

Walwortli 1ST7 

Yankton 1859 

Ziebach 1909 



Second 


Settlers 




First Settlement 


Settlement 


Fairly 


County 


Railroad 


Became 


Made 


Numerous 


Organized 


Arrived 


General 


1871 


1879 


1879 


1880 


1879 


1882 


1883 


1883 


1887 


1885 




1881 


1885 


1884 


188S 


1877 


1877 


1889 


1887 


1909 




1910 


1911 




1912 




1880 


1880 


1883 


1880 


1857 


1866 


1868 


1878 


1879 


1869 


1873 


1873 


1879 


1878 


1876 


187/ 


1877 


1886 


1877-07 




1908 


1909 


1909 


1909 


1883 


1883 


1883 


1887 


1883 


1883 


1883 


1883 


1884 


1892 


1875 


1876 


1883 


1883 


1881 




1913 


1913 




1913 


1879 


1879 


1879 


1882 


1881 


1890 


1880 


1889 


1907 


1906 


1883 


1883 


1S83 


1910 


1883 


1909 


1909 


1909 


1909 


1909 


1871 


1871 


1871 


1880 


1879 


1859 


1859 


1862 


1872 


1870 


IXSX 


1884 


1883 


1888 


1885 


1859 


1859 


1862 


1873 


1873 


1909 


1909 


1911 


1910 


1909 



It will be observed from this table that most of the region not then 
included in Indian reservations first was entered by settlers between 
1870 aod 1880. In several cases where the first settlement was several 
years before 1880, settlers did not soon become numerous. Settlers 
were numerous before 187 8 only in those few counties (1) containing 
parts of the lower Missouri and lower Sioux flood-plains, (2) adjoining 
this tier, or (3) in the Black Hills. It will be noted that some coun- 
ties were organized with but few settlers. ' Seventeen counties were 
organized before 187 8, while thirty-two were formed during the next 
seven years. The fourteen counties organized since 1885 are all west 
of the Missouri RiveT, most of them having been carved from Indian 
reservations soon after they were opened to settlement. Before 1880, 
railroads had been built in only seven counties; five of them were on 
the southeastern periphery of the Territory. By 1888 all but three or 
four of the forty-five counties east of the Missouri River and four of 
the Black Hills counties had at least one railroad. In most counties, 
settlement was general and railroads arrived at about the same date. 

The following sketch of railroad extension is especially unsatsifac- 
tory for the period before 1884. Commencing with 1885 an annual 
report was prepared by a territorial board of railroad commissioners. 
For a discussion of the factors which influenced the precise location 
of railroad lines, see p. 113. 

Before 1878 only three counties had railroads in operation, the 
total length of the latter being less than sixty miles. August 1st, 
1878, Elk Point and Sioux Falls were connected by rail. 221 During 1879 
this line was extended forty miles to Flandreau and the fifth county 
entered. In 1880 more than 380 miles of line were built; two lines 
crossed the eastern part of the Territory to the Missouri River at Pierre 
and Chamberlain, both being reached in November. 225 These lines open 
up a wide strip of country. The Missouri River was reached at a third 
l)oint, Running Water, in 1881, 220 and in that year the line which reached 
Milbank in I88O227 was extended westward to Aberdeen. By the close 

-■■^Andreas: loc. cit., p. 165. .About thirty-five miles of this line is on 

the Dakota side of the Sioux River and the rest on the Iowa side. 
-26Ibid., p. 153. 

=="Rosen: loc. cit.. p. 417. 

^-"Andreas: loc. cit., p. 172. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 151 

of 1881 the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Company had 680 milee 
in operation in this area and the Chicago and Northwestern 445 miles. 228 
During 1882 there seems to have been relatively little building. Madison 
was reached by the Southern Minnesota division of the Chicago, Mil- 
waukee and St. Paul, and Redfield also received a railroad from the 
east. During 1883 the line up the Dakota Valley from Yankton to 
Aberdeen was completed-^u and the east-west line to Madison was ex- 
tended beyond Howard. Before June 30th, 188 4, this line was extended 
to Woonsocket. Probably there were other extensions during this year. 
During the year ending June 30th, 1885, 145 miles of line were com- 
pleted in Dakota and the total mileage of the two more important 
southern Dakota companies was brought to 79 5 for the Chicago, Milwaukee 
and St. Paul and 5 76 for the Chicago and Northwestern. 2-io During 
the next year. 679 miles were completed; in the succeeding year, 716; 231 
"While during the next fiscal year only 114 miles were built. 2-!2 During the 
calendar year 1886 more than a thousand miles were comjileted in 
Dakota. A considerable part of this was on the divide between the Sioux 
and Dakota rivers, but extensive sections were on the western Coteau, 
and some in the Black Hills. There was little railroad building in 
southern Dakota between 1888 and 1905. In 1890 the mileage was 
2,610; in 1905, only 3,067. As reflected in the following table of land 
entries and as shown by other data summarized in Table 21, active 
settlement did not take place in some sections until one, two, or three 
years after the coming of railroads. This was conspicuously the case 
west of the Dakota Valley. In many counties the establ'shment of train 
service coincided with widespread settlement. 2-3 During the height of 
the boom (1882-85), railroads were not built fast enough to serve the 
rapidly growing settlements, and much land far from completed lines 
was filed on. Some such land was not served effectively by railroads 
for several years. 

Table 22 Lrand Filed on in Dakota, July 1, 1874, to June 30, 1889. 

in Acres234 



1874, 


206,000 


1880, 


2.269.000 


1885, 


4,548,000 


1875, 


392,000 


1881. 


2,673.000 


1886, 


3,075,000 


1877, 


213,000 


1882, 


4,360,000 


1887, 


2,076.000 


1878, 


1,378,000 


1883, 


7,317,000 


1888, 


1,881,000 


1879, 


1,657,000 


1884, 


11,083,000 


1889, 


2,383,000 



The increase in land claims in the last year indicated in the above 
table is due to the opening during that year of the Sioux reservation 
comprising the area now in Lyman and Stanley counties. 

The magnitude of the Dakota Boom is indicated strikingly by the 



=2spolk's Gazetteer for 1882, p. 906. 

^™Andreas: loc. cit., p. 146. 

="*First Annual Rept. of the Board oi R. R. Commissioners, p. 24, (Fargo, 
1886). 

23'McClure. P. F.: Resources of Dak., p. 245. (Aberdeen, 1887). 

'^"-Fourth Annual Rept. of Board of R. R. Commissioners. More than half 
of this was the line between Watertown and Huron. 

-""I^aniEiuage cannot exaggerate the rapidity with which these communi- 
ties are built up. You may stand ankle deep in the short grass of the un- 
inhabited wilderness; next month a mixed train will glide over the waste 
and stop at some point where the railroad has decided to locate a town. 
Men, women and children will jump out of the cars and their chattels will 
be tumbled out after them. From that moment the building begins. The 
courage and faith of these pioneers are something extraordinary. Their 
spirit seems to rise above all obstacles;" Blackburn, \V. M.: Historical Sketch 
of N. and S. Dak., S. D. Dept. of Hist. Coll., Vol. I, pp. 73-74, written 1893, 
published 1901. 

-■"The figures for 1875 to 1887 are from McClure: loc. cit., pp. 276-79 for 
1888 from Hagerty: Dictionary of Dak., p. 10, and his "Terr, of Dak." The 
figure for 1883 as given by Andreas: loc. cit., p. 98, is 10,000 larger than 
that given above. 



152 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



•following comparisons: During the first five years of the territorial gov- 
ernment (1862-66) only 100,000 acres were filed on,2:i'> and before Aug- 
ust 1, 1870, less than noo.OOO acres had been taken. 2"i; Nearly two-fifths 
of the entire acreage filed on in the United States in the year ending 
June 30. 18 83, was in Dakota, where nearly twice as much land iTY2 
million acres) was filed on, as in Minnesota, Nebraska, and Kansas com- 
bined.-"'" During the decade ending June 30, 1889, nearlv forty-two mil- 
lion acres, or nearly half the area of Dakota, was filed on. Probably 
more than three-fifths of this immense area was in southern Dakota, 
which then had about two-thirds of the population of Dakota. By 1887 
no free land remained in twenty-two counties of southern Dakota and 
nine others had an average of only 2,.5 00 acres each,^ -s most of which 
was then under water. 

The growth in population during this period shows most clearly 
the magnitude of the immigration. Fairly reliable data are obtainable 
only for 1880 and 1S8.J, in which years a federal and territorial census, 
respectively, was taken. The following table 23 indicates the ppoulation 
by counties for tliese years, together with the increase of 18 85 over ISSO: 

Table 23. ropiilatioii, 1880 and 1885, According; to Censuses of Those Years 



County 



1885 



Aurora 5,950 

tSeadle 10,318 

BonHomme 7,449 

Brookinss 8,228 

Brown 12,241 

Brule 7,524 

Butte 1,081 

Campbell 1,199 

Charles Mix 4,022 

Clark 4,892 

Clay 6,201 

Codington 5,648 

Custer 1,292 

IJavison 5,940 

Day 5,601 

Desmet 76 

Deuel 4,403 

Douglas ; 3,801 

Edmunds 2,422 

hwing- 50 

Fall River 472 

Faulk 3,120 

Grant 6,793 

Hamlin 3,757 

Hand 7,057 

Hanson 8,933 

Harding 43 

Hughes 5,268 

Hutchinson 9,006 

Hyde 2,175 

Jerauld 3,458 

Kingsbury 7,345 

I..ake 5,432 

Lawrence 10,326 

Lincoln 7,598 

McCook 5,641 

McPherson 1,422 

Marshall 2,187 

Miner 4,928 

Minnehaha 13,857 

Moody 5,189 

Pennington 3,224 

I'otter 2,836 

Koberts 2,154 



1880 Increase Over 1880 

69 5,881 

1,290 9,028 

5,446 1,981 

4,965 3,323 

353 11,888 

238 7,286 

1,081 

50 1,149 

407 3,615 

114 4,778 

5,001 1,200 

2,156 3,492 

995 297 

1,256 2,684 

97 5,504 

76 

2.302 2,101 
6 3,795 

2,422 

50 

472 

4 3,116 

3,010 3,783 

693 3,064 

153 6,904 

1.303 2,632 
43 

268 5,000 

5,573 3,433 

2,173 

3,458 

1,102 ■ 6,243 

2,657 2,775 

13,248 2,922 

5,896 1,702 

1,283 4,358 

1,422 

2,187 

363 4,565 

8,251 5,606 

3,915 1,242 

2,244 980 

2,336 

2,154 



=3»Armstrong, M. K. : Early Empire Builders, d. 47, (St. Paul, 1904). 
-•soBatchelder, Sec: Hist, of Dak., p. 45, (Yankton, 1870). 
-•'^Andreas: loc. cit., p. 98. 
»«McClure: loc. cit. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 153 

Table — Populatioii ISSO aud 1SS5 acoordlne to censiiscN of those years. 

County 1885 1880 Increase Over 1880 

Sanborn 4,106 4 106 

Spink 10,446 477 9,969 

Stanley 653 793 140 

Sully 3,233 296 2,937 

Turner . 8,282 5,320 2,962 

Union 8,017 6,813 1,204 

Walworth 1,412 46 1,366 

Yankton 9,404 8,390 1,014 

Unnamed strip 1,055 1,055 

The total population of the area now in South Dakota, according 
to the census of 1880. was 08,2fi8. including 16,487 in the Black Hills. 
In 18 85 it was 26 3,411. of whom only 14,842 were in the Black Hills. 239 
The increase in the eastern part of the area (the rest was in Indian 
reservations) therefore was 166,788 in five years. In 1890, 328,808 
persons were recorded in the state, of which number 3 2,5 59 were in the 
Black Hills region. The enumeration for 1880 was made after the 
great influx was well started, while that for 189 was taken after there 
had been a great exodus due to two or more crop failures and to many 
disappointments on the part of town builders and speculators. There- 
fore it is impossible to give accurately the total influx to this area during 
the boom in question. An approximate statement is possible: The pop- 
ulation reported by the ninth census (1870) was l^ss than 12,000. The 
number was estimated to have doubled by the winter of 1872.240 in 
1875 the Territory of Dakota was estimated to have 50,000 people, 2*1 of 
whom nearly 3 5,000 probably were in what now is South Dakota. The 
increase between 18 75 and 187 8 was slow, except in the Black Hills, and 
it is likely that the eastern part of the region had less than 50,000 
when the boom started in 1878. The rapid influx continued for some 
time after the enumeration of 1885. The Bureau of Immigration esti- 
mated that the increase for 1886 was over 85,000, and for the first 
half of 1887 about 45,000.212 Assuming that the increase for the last 
seven months of 1887 was at a corresponding rate, the poi)ulation of 
the area would have been more than 440,000 in June, 1887 — an increase 
of more than 75 0% in about nine years. 

Striking as the influx to Dakota during this period is when con- 
sidered in its larger aspects, as above, it may be illustrated even more 
vividly by the consideration of smaller units. Beadle county in 18 80 
had only thirty-seven acres in farms; in 18 8 5, it had 13 5, 8 3 4. 21: Huron 
was platted by the railroad company in May, 1880. The first train ar- 
rived June 2 5. The po])ulation in the spring of 1884 was estimated at 
3000. The improvements made during 1883 cost $450,000,241 Brown 
county in 1880 had only 468 acres in farms; by 1885 it had 248,346,245 
and a population of more than 12,000. Early in 1880 it had contained 
fewer than 100 persons. 241. Previous to June, 1881, the site of Aberdeen 
was a wilderness, but the first railroad train arrived July 6,. of that 
year, 247 and in June, 1882, it had a poi)ulation of 500.24s Blunt was 
first settled in the fall of 1882. In December of 1883 it boasted a popu- 



2a>The decreaoe there was produced in p^rt by the almost complete de- 
struction of Deadwood by fire in 1883. 

^'cBrennan, John: Conditions and Resources of Southern Dak., p. 3, 
(Sioux City, 1872). 

-"Hist, and Progress of Central Dak , p. 1, (Chicago. 1882). 

-'-McClure: loo. cit.. p. 87. 

-'•'McClure: loc. cit., p. 243. 

-'*Andieas: loc. cit., p. 145. 

-■"■•McClure: loc. cit., p. 24.3. 

-'".■\ndreas: loc. cit., p. 136. 

-♦"Polk's Gazetteer for 1882, i>. 902. 

-'"Andreas: loc. cit., p. 136. 



154 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

lation of nearly a thousand, occupying 3 00 well-made buildings. In May, 
June and July, 1883, real estate transactions amounted to $150,000 and 
business property advanced 300 7r in value. --to Mitchell dates from May,. 

1879. It obtained a railroad in September, 1880, and a United States 
Land office in October. It was incorporated in 1881 and had a population 
of 1200 in 1882. With the building of the second railroad, it had a 
wonderful growth in 1882-83, during which time flour mills, feed mills, 
an elevator, foundry, machine shop, and brick yards were established. ^''O 
Woonsocket was platted in September, 18 83. Two months later it had 
525 persons, and seven months later it had more than 800. 251 "The site 
of Redfield prior to July, 1882, was an unbroken wilderness. "252 i^ 
November of that year it was reported to have 1000 residents. 25:! Brook- 
ings, first settled in 1879, but not recorded as a town by the census of 

1880, had a population of 800 in 1882.254 

In 1878 the largest place in the area now forming eastern South 
Dakota was Yankton, the capital. It had a population of 737 by the 
census of 1870 and perhaps but few more than a thousand people in 
1878. Sioux Falls, the second center, was then a village of 600 or 700 
people.2s.'-. Vermilion was third in rank. So great was the influx after 
1878 that by 1880 four places, Watertown, Canton, Elk Point, and Ver- 
milion, had a population of more than 500 but less than 750 each, while 
two, Sioux Falls and Yankton, had 2164 and 3431 respectively. Sixteen 
other towns are recorded by the census of 18 80, but Aberdeen, Brook- 
ings, Pierre, Redfield, Milbank, Webster, Sisseton, Chamberlain, and 
other towns of present prominence had not yet been founded, while 
Mitchell had a population of only 320, Huron of 164, and Madison of 
9 6. By 1885 the places named above were significant towns, as they 
still are. When the boom began, few people foresaw which of the scores 
of towns platted were to become important cities, and which were to 
remain mere way-stations or county trading posts. Ambitious men of 
ability settled in about in equal numbers in each of many villages and 
each endeavored to make his town the chief one of the section. The 
rivalry between various towns therefore became very strong and resulted 
in many incidents that were ludicrous and many disappointments that 
were pathetic. 250 With few exceptions each town tried to become county 
seat. In several counties violent possession was taken of the county 
records. 25- a few examples of keen rivalry follow: In Sanborn 
county, Letcher contested with Forestburg (centrally located) for the 
seat. When Woonsocket secured two railroad lines and became the only 
town in the county so favored, the records appeared there mysteriously 
and Woonsocket succeeded in retaining them. 258 in Charles Mix County, 
there have been several contending towns, and Wheeler, an insignificant 
place not possessing a railroad, is the county seat. In Bon Homme 
County, Bon Homme, the oldest town, finally lost the seat of local govern- 
ment to Scotland, a railroad town.'ss in Turner, Swan Lake was for 
years the chief town and county seat, but it was not entered by a railroad 
and as a result slowly declined and finally lost the county seat. In Tripp 
county, Lamro, with a population of more than one thousand in 1910, 
the county seat, was on the direct line of a projected railroad, completed 

=*''Ibid., p. 150. 

2»'Ibid., p. 143. 

="Ibld., p. 169, 

252Polk's '82: loc. cit.. p. 1081. 

^The History and Progress of Central Dakota, p. 19 (Chicago, 1882.) 

2«Polk's '82: loc. cit., p. 926. 

=»It has a population of Sg."? in 1873. but did not increase much until a rail- 
VSn?^^'"'"^'®'^ *" ^^'^ (King's Handbook of the United States, p. 793, New York, 
1896. I 

^"Robinson, Doane: loc. cit., p. 157. 

^.M)nleton's .\nnual F.ncvlopedia for 1884, Dakota, (New York, 1885.) 

sssAndreas: loc. cit., p. 169. 

-^Ibid,, p. 146. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 155 

to within a few miles. When the line was extended in 1911, a curve was 
made to avoid Lamro, and a railroad town named Winner was laid out 
little more than a mile away. Lamro was desertel, its buildings being 
moved to Winner, which became a town of 1500 almost immediately. 
There have been many other instances of railroad favoritism in Dakota, 
especially before the Board of Railroad Commissioners began its work 
in lSS4.:ii;f 

For the foregoing reasons, and others, there was great uncertainty 
about the future of towns during this boom period. This is illustrated 
by contemporaneous gazetteers. In one of them,-'''i Huron,, which in 
three or four years became, as it still is, one of the more important 
cities of the state, received only mention, two and a half lines being 
given to it. In the same volume thirty lines were given to a discussion 
of Jamesville in Yankton county, a town which soon disappeared. Scores 
of other towns which disappeared within a few years, received extended 
notice. 

The boom times were brought to an end chiefly by croj) failures. 
In 1SS6 "Dakota suffered in common with the rest of the country from 
business depression and from drought which injured the small grains, 
producing a shortage of at least a third in wheat and oats. The drought 
was local, some localities having splendid crops and others almost total 
failures of small grain."-''- A weather bureau estimate places the shortage 
of crops at 50 %:-'^'-'- In 1887 there was a severe and widespread drought. 
In many counties little harvesting was done.2<'4 In 1888 droughts were 
local only, and the average crop was not much below reasonable expecta- 
tions, ^'i"- but "the terrible drought of 1889 produced widespread desti- 
tution. "^ch 

Other factors helped end the boom. The free land east of the 
Missouri River was nearly all taken by the summer of 1887. This region 
was fairly well supplied with railroads at that date, and few lines were 
built, with the result that towns which had looked for a railroad or for 
additional lines, began to lose hope. Financial conditions in general 
were less and less satisfactory, and loans were harder to secure. The 
difficulties became greater after each drought. 

While the exodus from Dakota which followed the collapse of the 
boom was produced primarily by the drought, it was increased by disap- 
pointments in business and land speculation. Furthermcre, thousands 
left who had come to the region chieflv to secure land while it could be 
obtained for little or nothing from the government, and without any 
firm intention of making it their permanent home After receiving title 
to their claims, many did not need even a moderate drought to induce 
them to leave. 

5. The Admission of Soutli Dakota to Statehood 

An urgent demand for statehood resulted from the great influx of 
1879-86,. and after vexatious delays,. South Dakota was admitted in 1889. 

The movement for statehood began during the first boom (1869-74). 
A memorial to Congress calling for a division on the 4 6th parallel of 
the Territory and for the admission of the southern part as a state was 
passed unanimously by the Legislature Jan. 12, 1871.2<'.7 a similar mem- 
orial was passed with but four dissenting votes on De?. ol, 187 2 This 
memorial again was passed with but one dissenting vote Dec. 19, 



-■""See -Vnnual Reports of this board, especially naRc of tin- Kst. 

^"iPolk's Gazetteer for 1881, p. 874. (Detroit. 1881.) 

^^-Governor's Report to the Sec. of Interior for 1886. 

-'"■■'Finlev: loc. cit., i). 28. 

2«Ibifl., p. 28. 

■-«nbi(l.. I). 29. 

arnoovf-rnor'p Renort for 1800. 

»«Hagerty, F. H.: The State of S Dak., p. 31, (.Aberdeen, 1889). 



156 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

1874, and unanimously on Jan. 24, 1877.-'<'« Between 1876 and 1878, 
the time of the gold-rush to the Black Hills, there were vigorous de- 
mands for the creation of a Territorv of the Black Hills, to be called 
Black Hills, Lincoln, Eldorado, or by some other appropriate name.siis' A 
bill to this effect came before the senate in February, 1877. ^r^ in 1879 
a protest against the admission of Dakota as one state was sent to 
Congress praying for the admission of three states, one to center 
about tho Black Hills, was passed by the legislature. ^tj a bill to this 
effect was reported favorably in each house of Congress, but passed 
neither.-'' In 1883, "After an unparalleled volume of immigration to 
southern Dakota, which is believed to have received fully 250,000 people 
in the two preceding years, "274 another memorial praying for a divis- 
ion and admission was passed. The removal in 1882 of the territorial 
capital from Yankton to the more centrally located Bismark, intensi- 
fied the desire of the southern part for statehood. A constitutional 
convention of 350 delegates assembled at Huron June 19, 1883, and 
another at Sioux Falls on September 4th of the same' year. A consti- 
tution was adopted by a two-thirds majority on Nov. 3, 1883, but was 
ignored by Congress.-'"' Jan. 19, 1885. a memorial was passed unan- 
imously by the legislature praying for a division on either the 4 6th parallel 
or the seventh standard parallel, for the admission of two states. This 
memorial states that "The probable division has been considered at 
every territorial political convention held in the past thirteen years, 
and these conventions, in almost every instance without a dissenting 
vote, have invariably declared for division. Public institutions have 
been located-"'' and built with a view toward division. 277 Additional rea- 
sons for dividing are set forth in this document, such as: "The union 
of the two sections into one state would be unnatural and would lead to 
endless difficulties. The division prayed for is wise. It will quiet 
strife, prevent difficulties and misunderstanding, and will promote the 
interests of both sections. "-7s "During 1886 to 1889 there was much 
agitation for a separate state for the Black Hills by the people of the 
the Hills, but it was to no purpose. "-7u The division of Dakota into 
North Dakota and South Dakota and their admission as states was 
made a national issue by the Republican party in 1888. This party 
prevailed in the election, and the bill was passed Feb. 14th, 1889. The 
people on October 1, readopted the constitution of 18 85 and the two 
states were admitted Nov. 2, 1889. -so 

The boundaries of the state are discussed in Chapter I (p. 9.) 
At this point a few quotations concerning the causes for a division of 
the territory will be in order. "Division was inevitable. The great 
territory contained three one-sided centers of population, widely sep- 
arated and differing in social interests, products and transportation 
facilities."-'^' "There was at this period an inherent difference between 

sisibid., p. 31. 

TJ^^l^'^^' ^- '^■- The Black Hills, p. 360, (St. Louis, 1899). 

^"Ibid., p. 380. 

-"'Hagerty: loc. cit , p. 31. 

-•-Ibid., p. 231. 

-■•'Rosen, Peter: Pahasapa or the Black Hills, p. 396, (St. Louis, 1899). 

-*Hag^erty: loc. cit.. p. 31. 

-•75Andreas, D. T.: Historical Atlas of Dak, p. 100, (Chicag-o, 1884). 

-'"rhe location of the state institutions of both states is unfortunate; 
nearly all are situated near the eastern or southeastern boundary. 

'"•"A memorial to the Congress of the United States from the Legislative 
Assembly of Dakota Territory praying for the division of Dakota and the 
a(itni>sioii of the southern portion as a state. Passed Jan. 19, 1885, Bis- 
mark, p. 6. 

-'"Ibid., p. 8. 

-'•»Tallent: loc. cit., p. 883 

asoRobinson, Doane: A Brief Hist, of S. Dak., p. 171, (New York, 1905,. 

^"Hagerty, F. H.: The Terr, of Dak., p. 5, (Aberdeen, 1889) 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 157 

the people of northern and southern Dakota. South Dakota was chiefly 
occupied by homesteaders who brought with them the conservative 
notions of the small farmer about public and private e:?onomy, morality 
and education. On the other hand, North Dakota was controlled chiefly 
by bonanza farmers, captains of industry, whose traditions were entirely 
at variance with those of the homesteaders of South Dakota"-'*- (and 
later of western North Dakota). 

Large holdings of land were secured much more readily and promptly 
by wealthy men in northern Dakota than in southern, as in the former 
there were large tracts of railroad lands given by the government to 
subsidize the building of the Northern Pacific Railroad. There were 
no such lands in southern Dakota. The fact that the nearly level 
Red River Valley occupied early by bonanza wheat farmers, has its 
southern end near the 4 6th ])arallel iiossibly was an influence, as was 
the fact that this parallel divides Dakota nearly equally. Aside from 
the seventh standard parallel four miles to the south, no other division 
line appears to have been suggested officially. 

6. Dry Years and Their Effects 

As noted in Chapter V (climate), local droughts are to be ex- 
pected somewhere in South Dakota nearly every year, and widespread 
droughts are likely to occur at not infrequent intervals. Some of the 
influences of the severe droughts of 1864, 1874, 1886, 1887, and 1889 
have been noted. The longest and most widespread drought in 
the history cf the area commenced in 1889, and lasted in most sec- 
tions until 1896 or 1897. Rainfall was deficient for a large part of 
South Dakota nearly every year of that period, and in several years 
there was an almost total failure of crops in many counties. •-^•' A dis- 
cussion of the amount and distribution of the precipitation and the 
effects on yields occurs in Chapter V (p. 60.) The importance of 
droughts in bringing the Great Boom to a close and in producing an 
exodus of population also has been mentioned. The exodus con- 
tinued for several years. It was increased by the panic of 1893 
produced in part by Avidespread drought in the Great Plains and in 
the Prairie Plains during this and the two preceding years. Many 
counties of South Dakota, most of them west of the Dakota River, de- 
creased greatly in population; and in 1897 many probably had less 
than half as many people as they had a decade before. 

The exodus produced by the droughts was selective in character. 
The less patient and those readiest to start again elsewhere usually 
left soonest. The proportion of foreigners in South Dakota was in- 
creased consiJicuously, while that of Americans born in ceirtain states, 
especially New England and New York, decreased greatlv. Many native 
Americans, being more or less familiar with other parts of the coun- 
try and having friends and relatives in other regions, soon discovered 
greater opportunities elsewhere. As a class they probably were more 
likely than recent immigrants to have the funds with which to move. 
Others lacked the perseverance to await favorable seasons, or the patience 
to sow a second or a third crop when the preceding one or two had 
been failures. Most of them, being accustomed to some degree of 
prosi)erity, were unwilling to subsist on the meager diet and endure 
the other hardships imposed by dry years and i)artial crops. Most of 
the foreigners in Dakota had come from northern Europe or eastern 
Canada and many of them were accustomed to poverty and meager 
crops resulting from infertile soils, tiny fields, or adverse climate. 
Some of the immigrants found conditions in Dakota even during the 



2«mobinson, Doane: loc. clt.. p. 172. 

='°Robinson, Doane: A Brief Hist, of S. Dak., p. 171, (New York, 1905) 



15S THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

worst half-decade an improvement over those they had left. Such as 
were inclined to leave Dakota were in most cases prevented by lack 
of information concerning other regions or for want of funds with 
which to move. 

In view of the foregoing facts, the following statements are not 
surprising: "The population of southern Dakota is largely native Amer- 
icans, mostly coming from New England, New York, Hlinois, Indiana, 
Wisconsin, Iowa, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. There also are a number 
of Norwegians and Germans. ■^^^ In 1872 it was estimated that in Min- 
nehaha and Lincoln counties the population was about ^•>0''/r Yankees, 
and that most of the rest were Scandinavians; 2s-, that in Union County 
"out of every seven, two are Anglo-American, two French-American^ 
two Scandinavian and one Irish, there being only a dozen German fam- 
ilies in the county.''^'*" "In Clay Counfv about one-third are Anglo- 
American, one-third Scandinavians, one-fifth Irish, and one-sixth Ger- 
mans and French-Americans."-'-'" "In Yankton County perhaps one-half 
are Anglo-Americans, one-fourth Scandinavians, and the rest Bohemians, 
Germans and Irish. "sss "In Bonhomme County one-half are Bohemians, 
two-fifths Anglo-AmeTicans, and one-sixth Irish. "^sn When it is re- 
called that the last and the first two counties mentioned above then 
had very small populations, it appears that the foreign element was not 
larger than .50 9f. During the Great Boom a flood of native Americans 
quite submerged, in many counties, the foreign element.-"" Codington 
County, credited with more than 6,000 people in 1884, was settled very 
largely by New Yorkers. -m Beadle Countv, with a population of 10,000 
in 1884, was settled chiefly from Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Wisconsin. 232 
Spink County was settled first by a colony from Boston, but soon many 
settlers came from Minnesota. Iowa. Illinois, Michigan, and Misconsin.29'» 
At the census of 1885, 72% of the population of southern Dakota 
were native-born Americans. 20-1 Although this element was increased 
to 73.9% in 1890, and to 78% in 1900,- the foreign element had 
increased relatively, as shown by the figures for the children of foreign- 
born parents. In 1890 these made 31.4% of the population, while in 
1900 they made 38.9%. The total foreign element (including native 
children of foreign-born parents) was 57.-5% in 1890, and 60.9% in 
1900. Probably the ratios were more ne(arly 50% in 1887 (at the 
close of the Boom) and 75% in 1897, when a great influx of native 
Americans began. 

The Boom affected not only the size and the temperamental and 
racial characteristics of the population, but also its distribution within 
the area and its occupations. Land values likewise were changed 
greatly. 

Six counties in the southeastern part of the state in which it is 
claimed that there was in no year failure both of small grain and 
corn crops, decreased in population little if any, while other counties 
lost heavily. Much land which had been filed on west of the Missouri 
River, especially in Stanley, Lyman, and Fall River counties, was de- 

=»<T3atcheldier, Sec- The Hist, of Dak., p. 45, (Yankton, 1870). 

-85Brennan, John: Conditions and Resources of Southern Dak., p. 22, 
(Sioux Citv, 1872). 

^^'Tbid., p 22. 

=8'Ibid., p. 25. 

=»«rbid., p. 28. 

=™Ibid.. p. 30. 

^"''"It is from New York and Ohio that we have taken the models of 
our law.s. wliile the ba-sis of our local institutions and usa£;-e.« of srovern- 
ment is essentially that of New England." (Smith and Young, Civil Govern- 
ment of S. D., p. 63. New York, 1904) 

=»i.A.ndreas: Historical Atlas of Dak., p. 158. (Chicago, 1884). 

-■"^Ibirt., p. 145 

™nbid.. pp. 140, 141. 

2o*Hagerty, F. H : Dictionary of Dak., p. 10, (Aberdeen, 1889). 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 159 

serted by farmers. Some of this laud presently was used by stock 
rangers. In the eastern part of the state, especially on the western 
Coteau, areas relatively remote from railroads were deserted by farmers 
soonest and most completely, other things being equal. Many farms 
having relatively poor soils also were abandoned promptly. 

Farming methods were changed. Varieties of plants better suited 
to the climate were grown, and more care was given to the preparation 
of the ground. The custom of burning the stubble and "discing in" 
seed which had been scattered broadcast was replaced generally by the 
practice of plowing or double-discing the land and planting by drill. 
The rotation and diversification of crops received greater attention. 
Mixed farming replaced "pure" or "straight" farming on many farms; 
livestock were introduced on most farms; and dairying became much more 
important than formerly. Other changes are noted in the section on 
agriculture (p. 115.) 

Land values decreased greatly as a result of the years of drought. 
In 1870 unimproved land in the Missouri Valley was worth from $3 
to $5 per acre if without trees; if heavily wooded, it was worth $15 
to $40. Improved land without timber was worth $8 to $25 per acre.-'O"' 
In 1872 land near Vermilion, a railroad town, sold regularly at $15 
to $30 per acre, while ten miles north land was sold for $3 to $'10^96 
The construction of the railroad from Sioux City to Yankton is said to 
have "doubled the value of all the land of southern Dakota. "-^t In 
1882 land near Sioux Falls was sold for $5 to $18 or more per acre; 
near Huron, $6 to $20; near Elk Point. $4 to $25 or more; and near 
Canton, $4 to $12.:i'-js During the height of the Boom, 1883 to 1885 
inclusive, little or no land to which title could be given could be had 
for lees than $10 per acre; most unimproved land was held at more than 
twice that, a price justified by the crops obtained. During the hard 
times of the early 1890s, when prices of crops were low and yields 
were small, land values fell to such an extent that $10 an acre was 
considered a very good price in most counties, and tens of thousands 
of farms could have been bought for less than half that. Indeed, much 
land was sold for taxes. 

The droughts made it more difficult to secure water for household 
use; most shallow wells failed, and many of the farmers who were 
financially able undertook the drilling of deep wells. Irrigation also 
was much considered during that period. The feasibility of diverting 
waters from the Missouri River in North Dakota to irrigate the more 
nearly level ])arts of the Dakota Valley was much discussed. Topograph- 
ical relations favored the plan, but the volume of water carried 
by the Missouri is so uncertain that it was abandoned. There was 
much talk of drilling many large artesian wells in order to irrigate 
with ground waters. The Federal Government called for a reiport on 
this subject2!>f» and drilled several wells, most of them in Indian reser- 
vations, but no widespread system of irrigation was adopted. 

6. Wet Years and the Return of Good Times 

Commencing about 1895, the rainfall increased, and, of much more 
importance to agriculture, a larger proportion of it came when needed 
by plants. Finally, in 1898, a series of "wet years" commenced, and 
fairly satisfactory conditions continued in most of the state until 
1910. As a result, these were years of bountiful yields and of great 



««sFoster, J. S.: Outlines of Hist, of Dak., pp. 45. 54, 88, (Yankton. 1870). 
««Brennan, John: Conditions and Resources of Southern Dak., p. 95. 
=»^Ibld., p. 4. 

™8polk's Gazetteer for 1882, loc clt., pp. 1069, 1021, 932. 
"•Culver, G. E.: The Practicability of Irrigating with Artesian Waters 
in the Dakotas, (Washington. 1893). 



160 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

prosperity. Bank deposits in South Dakota increased 600% between 
19 00 and 1910.-'"" Land values increased greatly. The aggregate value 
of all farm lands increased 377% between 1900 and 1910. The total 
increase between 189 5 and 1910 was at least 500%. Many farms in- 
creased in value more than 1,000% in the fifteen years. The increase 
in population between 1895 and 1910 was 252,913, more than 76%. A 
large proportion of this increase was west of the Dakota Valley, and 
more than 50% was west of the Missouri Valley, in which area the in- 
crease in population between 1903 and 1910 was perhaps 400%. Twelve 
counties were organized in the latter region as a result of this influx, 
and nearly all the government land available was taken up. The eager- 
ness of many people to secure some of these lands is reflected in the 
following statements: In 1904 a part of the Rosebud Indian Reserva- 
tion was open to settlement; 106,000 persons applied for the right 
to homestead land, none of which was free, and most of which cost 
$2.50 or more an acre. In 1907 a small part of the Brule Reservation 
was opened, and 4,350 persons registered for some one of the 343 
homesteads available. In 1909 most of the Cheyenne and Standing 
Rock Reservations were opened, and there were 80,14 2 entries for 
10,000 homesteads. 

7. Recent Years 

The years 1910, 1911, and, in many sections, 1912 as well, werf^ 
exceptionally dry, as dry as any three consecutive years in the early 
189 0's. In 1910 the average rainfall, of the state was only two-thirds 
the normal amount, and although the total amount in 1911 was greater, 
a considerable share came in the autumn when it was a handicap, as it 
interfered with harvest. In 1913 fairly satisfactory crops were obtained 
in most regions, while in 1914 yields were good on the average. The 
weather conditions of these years are discussed further in Chapter V. 

The effects of these dry years in the western part of the state were 
somewhat similar to those produced by the dry years which terminated 
and followed the Great Boom. Theire was a considerable exodus from 
this section, and land values fell in some cases to $5.00 an acre. Little 
land was abandoned, however. The farmers that remained acquired 
larger holdings, by lease or purchase, and by raising more livestock, 
l)racticing "dry farming," and cultivating alfalfa, continued to utilize 
most of the land. In the eastern part of the state, the effects were 
far less pronounced. There most farmers practice mixed farming, pay 
much more attention to the selection of suitable varieties of plants, and 
employ methods of tillage better suited to local conditions. Many have 
artesian wells which afford a constant supply of water for their stock 
even in the dryest years. In each of these particulars, conditions there 
have improved greatly since 1887, and the occasional drought is far 
less disastrous than formerly. In the southeastern quarter of the state, 
land values have continued to rise, stimulated perhaps by the contrast 
between this section and areas less fortunate in respect to rainfall. 
Many farms in this quarter have sold recently for more than $175 per 
acre, and some for more than $200.00 per acre. 

Conditions during recent years are treated in more detail in the 
first third of this chapter, under "Present Conditions." 

Sr.MMARY OF SETTLEMENT 

Most of the settlement of this area took place during three boom 
periods, the second or "Great Dakota Boom" being the one during 
which the largest addition to the population was made. Between the 
periods of rapid settlement, the population increased slowly or not at 

*">Johnson. P. E.: S .Dak., A Republic of Friends, p. 63, (Pierre, 1911). 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 161 

all. Each of the booms was due to railroad extension and a series of 
wet years; each was terminated by poor crops, due in most cases to 
droughts. 

The first boom began in 186:8, and developed rapidly in 1870. In 
the former year, Sioux City, Iowa, was reached by railroads, and in the 
latter year several lines approached and fifteen projected lines which 
were to serve Dakota were much talked of.'"'i However, railroad build- 
ing was stopped by the panic of 1873, ^(^s before southern Dakota had 
many miles of railroad, and the boom was terminated by the ravages 
of grasshoppers between 18 73 and 1875,-^o.! t^e crop of 1874 being nearly 
destroyed by them. Thousands of persons were reduced to the verge 
of starvation."'* 

The Great Dakota Boom was inaugurated in 1879, after two years 
of good crops, by renewed activity in railroad building. The presence 
of a large mining population-"' in the Black Hills was one incentive 
for railroad extension in that direction, and the appropriation of nearly 
all the land in Iowa was another. During this boom nearly 2,500 
miles of railroad were built in the area now included in eastern South 
Dakota, ■"'! and a flood of settlers occupied most of the eastern half 
of the state, and parts of the western half. The Sioux Reservation de- 
layed until 1889 the occupation of a large section west of the Missouri 
River. The population of southern Dakota increased from perhaps 
60,000 in 1878-'^- to more than 3.50,000 in 1886. •!"« When all the 
better land available had been filed on, the further influx of settlers 
was stopped by severe droughts in 1886:1"!' and 1887. -i" The widespread 
droughts of 1889:^ii and of the earlv 1890's drove thousands from this 
area, as from other sections of the Great Plains and nearly depopulated 
certain counties, especially those west of the longitude of the Dakota 
River. 

The third boom commenced in the eastern part of the state about 
189 8, as a result of fairly good crops for two or three years. During 
the decade 1900-1910 farm land values increased 37 7%, •''12 and the 
population of the state increased 4 5%.si3 All the more desirable land of 
the section east of the Missouri was again occupied, and a strong de- 
mand developed for railroad extension and for the opening of the 
Indian reservations west of the Missouri River. This was due in part 
to the fact that settlers had reported good harvests for several years 



'"'Batchelder: Sketch of Hist, and Resources of Dak. Terr., p. 43, 
(Yankton, 1870) 

•■«>2Polk's Gazetteer of Minn, and Dak. for 1881, p. 782, (Detroit, 1881). 

303Trumbo: Reminiscences, S. D. Dept. of Hist. Coll., Vol. V, p. 89, 
(Pierre, 1910). 

3'«Andreas: Hist. Atlas of Dak , p. 164. (Chicago, 1884). 

■•"=16,487 bv the census of 1880. 

"•^More than 2000 miles were built in Dak. Terr, by 1883 (Kerr: Presi- 
dent's Annual Address, S. D. Hi^t. Soc, S. D. Dept. of Hist. Coll., Vol V, p. 
81, 1910), and in the fiscal years ending June 30, 1885. 1886 and 1887, 145 
miles, 679 miles, and 716 miles (Annual Reports of R. R. Commissioners, 
1-111). Southern Dak had less than 100 miles in 1878, and more than 2600 
miles a decade later. 

=»"The population was 11,925 according to the census of 1870. It had; 
doubled bv late in 1872 (Brennan, .John: Conditions and Resources of South- 
ern Dak., "p. 39, 1872). The increase 1873-78 was slow, while from 1878 to 
1880, when 98,711 are recorded, the increase was rapid. 

nnsxhere were 263,411 by the census of 1885 (June) and in addition to 
an unknown increase for the balance of that year there was an estimated 
Increase of 85.000 for 1886, (Commissioner of Immigration, quoted in Report 
of Governor in 1886). 

•""'Governor's Report to the Secretary of the Interior for 1886. 

■■""Finley, J. P.: Certain Climatic Features of the Two Dakotas, p. 28, 
(Washington, 1893) 

•iiPinlev: loc. cit., p. 28. 

"-'Bureau of Census: Supplement for S. Dak., p. 615, (Washington, 1913). 

"'•■'Ibid., p. 568. 

Sig.— 11. 



162 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

even in the drier parts of the state. Finally the Missouri River was 
bridged at Pierre and Chamberlain in 1907, and at Mobridge in 1909. 
Between 1906 ana 1910, inclus've, several hundred miles of line were 
built west of that river, and by 1911 nearly all the government land 
of much agricultural value, and open to entry, had been filed on. 

During the decade 19 00-1910 the total population of the area west 
of the Missouri River, Lawrence County in the Black Hills excepted, 
increased nearly 440%, from 27,343 to 115,973.314 Most of this in- 
crease occurred in the last third of the decade. 

Several dry years, of which 1910 was the first and the most severe, 
have caused many homesteaders to leave soon after receiving patents 
for their claims, decreasing greatly the population of many western 
counties. 

Geographic conditions, especially climate, have been powerful in- 
fluences in this area. The native flora, funa, and the settlement and 
development of the area clearly reflect these conditions; and the activities 
of the people are chiefly in response to geographic conditions. From 
a geographic viewpoint, the area seems destined to remain predominantly 
agricultural, and much of the western half, at least, of the type in 
which stock raising is prominent. 



si«Thirteenth Census: loc. cit . pp. 596-609. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 163 

A BIBLIOGRAPHY OP THE LITERATURE CITED 

Appleton: Annual Encyclopedia 1875-96, Dakota, (New York, 1876-96). 

Contains extracts from official reports and summary for the year.) 
Armstrong, M. K.: History and Resources of Dakota, (Yankton, 1866). 

(Deals chiefly with the personalities of early politicians). 

Early Empire Builders of the Great West (a reprint of the proceed- 
ing), (St. Paul, 1901). 

Andreas, A. T.: Historical Atlas of Dakota, (Chicago, 1884). (The chief 
authority on the Territory before 1884). 

Bailey, D. R.: History of Minnehaha County, S. D., (Sioux Falls, 1899). 
(Mostly biographical sketches of prosperous farmers and business 
men.) 

Baldwin, Geo. P.: The Black Hills, (Chicago, 1904). (An elementary 
treatment.) 

Batchelder, G. A.: A Sketch of the History and Resources of Dakota 
Territory, (Yankton, 1870). (Report of Sec. of Immigration written 
to attract New England clerks). 

Barrows, Harlan H.: The Geography of the Middle Illinois Valley, Bull. 
15, 111. Geol. Surv., (Urbana, 1910). (A thorough discussion of a 
region similar in many ways to extreme southeastern South Dakota). 

Beadle, W. H.: Geography and History of Dakota, (Minneapolis, 1889). 
(A booklet written for elementary grade pupils). 

Belief ourche Irrigation Project, The, (C. & N. W. R. R.), (Chicago, 
1912). (A railroad leaflet). 

Bigelow, F. H.: The Daily Normal Temperature of Daily Normal Pre- 
cipitation of the U. S., Bull. R., U. S. Weather Bureau, (Washing- 
ton, 1908). (Contains on South Dakota only the tables here 
reprinted) . 

Blackburn, W. M.: Historical Sketch of North & S. Dakota, S. D. Dept. 
of Hist., Coll., Vol. 1, 1902. (A fairly well organized sixty-page 
sketch). 

Bowker, R. R.: Dakota Ter. Publications, Bibliography State Publications, 
Vol. Ill, (New York, 1905). (A list of official publications of the Ter- 
ritory of Dakota). 

Brackenridge: View of Louisiana. In Thwaites: Early Western Travels. 
(An account of travels in 1811 to the site of Bismark). 

Bradford, W. J. A.: Notes on the Northwest, (New York, 1846). (Mostly 
a reprint of government reports on the geology of Minn, and la.) 

Bradbury: Travels in N. America in 1811, In Thwaite's: "Early West- 
ern Travels." (Contains some interesting descriptions of land and 
life in the zone bordering the Missouri River). 

Brennan, ,Tohn: Conditions and Resources of Southern Dakota. (A val- 
uable booklet issued by the Southern Dakota Railroad Company), 
(Sioux City, 1872). 

Chittenham, H. M.: History of American Fur Trade of the Far West, 
(New York, 1904). (The authoritative work). 

History of the Early Steamboat Navigation on the Missouri River, 
New (York, 1904). (A general work of value). 

Coffey, G. N.: A Reconnaisance Soil Map of Western S. Dakota, Rept. 
of Field Work for 1909, U. S. Bur. of Soils, (Washington, 1911). 
(A good base map as well as a soil map, with some pertinent 
notes). 

Coulter, J. L.: Industrial History of the Valley of the Red River of the 
North, Coll. of the State Hist. Society of N. Dak., Vol. Ill, 1910. 
(A valuable account). 



164 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

Coues, Elliot: Birds- of the Northwest, (Washington, 1872). An orni- 
thological work only recently superseded). 
The Journal of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, (New York). 

(The first publication of this valuable journal). 
Craig, Wallace: North Dakota Life, Bull. Am. Geog. Society XL, 1908. 

(A suggestive, but in many places a speculative article). 
Culver, G. E.: The Practicability of Irrigating with Artesian Waters in 
the Dakotas, Washington, ( 1893). (A leaflet intended to result 
in appropriations for large-bore flows). 
Curley, E. A.: The True Story of the Black Hills, (Chicago, 1876). (A 

booklet of little value). 
Custer, Mrs. E. B.: Boots and Saddle or Life in Dakota, (New York, 
1885). (Little about South Dakota; much about life' in camp 
with Gen. Custer). 
Darton, N. H.: Geology and Water Resources of So. Dakota, Water 
Supply Paper 227, U. S. Geol. Survey, (Washington, 1909). (An 
excellent summary of these subjects). 
The Geology and Water Resources of the Great Plains, Prof. Paper 

32, U. S. Geol. Survey, (Washington, . 1905 ). (A voluminous 

preliminary report). 
The Geology and Water Resources of the Southern Black Hills, 

21st Annual Report., U. S. Geol, Survey, pt. IV, (Washington, 

1901). (An authoritative detailed report). 
The Geology and Water Resources of the Northern Black Hills, 

Prof. Paper 65, U. S. Geol. Survey, (Washington, 1909). (An 

authoritative report). 
Geologic folios 85, 107, 108, 127, 128, 150, 164, U. S. Geol. 

Survey, (Washington, 19 02-09). (Detailed reports on small 

areas ) . 
New Developments in Deep Well Boring and Irrigation in Eastern 

S. Dakota, 18th Ann. Rept., IT. S. Geol. Survey. (A progress 

report, largely superseded). 
A Prel. Report on Artesian Waters of a Portion of the Dakotas, 

17th Ann. Rept., U. S. Geol. Survey, Pt. 11. (Superseded by 

water-supply paper 2 27). 

Day, C. P.: Frost Data of the U. S., Bull. V., U. S. Weather Bureau, 
(Washington, 1911). (All data pertaining to S. D. given is re- 
ported here). 

Deadwood, Board of Trade: The Black Hills of Dakota, (Deadwood, 
1881). (A pamphlet of little value). 

Dixon, F. A.: A Traffic Hist, of the Mississippi River System, Doc. 11, 
Nat'l Waterways Commission, (Washington, 1909). (A very val- 
uable pamphlet, but contains little on S. Dak.) 

Dodge, R. I.: The Black Hills, (New York, 1876). (Mostly a narrative 
of the wanderings of an army officer). 

The Hunting Grounds of the Greast West, (London, 1878). (A 
hunter's narrative and exposition). 

Dunham, N. J.: History of Davison County, S. D., (Mitchell, 1911). 
(A fair volume, mostly dealing with personalities). 

Pinley, J. P.: Certain Climatic Features of the Two Dakotas, (Wash- 
ington, 1893). (A good introduction; mostly statistics from weather 
bureau observers). 

Foster, Jas. S.: Outlines of History of Dakota and Immigrants' Guide, 
Yankton, 1870). (A very valuable booklet). 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 165 

Gannett, Henry: The Boundaries of the U. S. and the Several States 
and Territories, Bull. 226, U. S. Geol. Survey, (Washington, 1904). 
(Technical statements of boundary legislation). 

Profiles of Rivers in the United States. (U. S. Geol. Sur, Bull. 
127, (Washington). (Contains data for but two S. D. streams, 
the Missouri and the Dakota (James). 

Glenn, S. W.: Annual Summaries for S. Dak., U. S. Weather Bureau. 
(Valuable official summaries). 

Summary for Sect. 34, U. S. Weather Bur., (Washington, 1907). 
(A summary for the years 1890-1908). 

Governor of Dakota Terr.: Rept. to Sec'y of Interior, 1881-1889. 

Hagerty, F. H.: The Territory of Dakota, (Aberdeen, 18 89). (A report 
of the Commissioner of Immigration, of value). 
The State of S. Dakota, (Aberdeen, 1889). (The constitution and 

by-laws of the state). 
Dictionary of Dakota, (Aberdeen, 18S9). (An interesting sum- 
mary of current conditions). 

Hale, E. E.: Kansas and Nebraska, (Boston, 1854). (Of little sig- 
nificance to Dakota). 

Hanson, Jos. Mills: The Conquest of the Missouri River, (Chicago, 
19 09). (Mostly a biography of a river captain). 

Harvey, L. R. : Floral Succession in the Prairie Grass Formation of S. E. 
S. Dak. Botanical Gazette XLIV, 1908. (A valuable ecological 
study of a small area near Yankton). 

Hedrick, U. P.: Multiplicity of Crops as a Means of Increasing the Future 
Food Supply, Science, Oct. 30, 1914. (An article of great inter- 
est). 

Henry, A. J.: The Climatolagy of the U. S., Bull. Q, U. S. Weather 
Bureau, (Washington, 1906). (Mostly superseded for S. D. by 
summaries for Sections 33 and 34, 1908). 

Secular Variation of Precipitation in the U. S., Bull. Am. Geog. So- 
ciety XLVl, Mar., 1914. (A significant article of general in- 
terest ) . 

Heston. W. W.: Hist, and Activities of the People of S. Dakota, Ency- 
clopedia Americana. (A good article). 

Holley, Frances C: Once Their Home, or Our Legacy from the Dak- 
Kotahs, (Chicago, 1890). (A poor book). 

Howell, O. W.: Facts About the Missouri River, Ex. Doc. House of 
Rep. 3rd Sess. 40th Congress, Congressional Series 1368? (Some 
authoritative statements). 

Irving, J. D.: Economic Resources of the Northern Black Hills, Prof. 
Paper 2 6, V. S. Geol. Surv. (Washington). (A detailed report). 

Irving, Washington: Astoria. (A very readable narrative). 

Jagger, T. A.: Laccoliths of the Black Hills, U. S. Geol. Surv. 21 Ann. 
Rept. Pt. Ill (Washington, 1901). (A suggestive technical report). 

Johnson, Willis E.: Dakota, A Republic of Friends, (Pierre, 1911). 
(A good elementary book, mostly on the government). 

Jones, Sheridan: Lists of Plants and Birds Noted in Gregory County, 
S. Dak., Bull. 4. S. D. Geol. Surv., 1908. (Of little value). 

Kerr, Robt. F : Presidents Ann. Address, S. D. Historical Society, S. D. 
Dept. cf Hist. Coll., Vol. V, (Pierre. 1910). (An exceptional ad- 
dress). 

Lea, S. H.: Irrigation in S. D.. (Washington. 1909). (A brief bulletin 
by the state engineer, largely sui)erseded by 13th Census). 

Ludlow, Wm.: Rept. of Reconnaissance to the Black Hills in 1874, 
(Washington, 187.5). (Narrative by Ludlow and reports by spe- 
cialists) . 



166 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

Maudet — Grancy, E. : Cowboys and Colonels, A Narrative of a Journey 

Across the Prairie and Over the Black Hills, Translated by Wm. 

Conn, (London, 1887). (A humorous account of a Frenchman). 

McClure, P. F. :The Resources of Dakota, Kept, of Comm. of Immigration, 

(Aberdeen, 1887). (A very valuable volume). 
Mineral Industry, The. New York (Annual). (Gives statistics of pro- 
duction of various minerals). 
Ogden, A.: A Ride Through the Black Hills, Atlantic Monthly, April, 

1892. (Some good descriptions and a little poor history). 
O' Harra, C. C: A Hist, of the Early Expl. of the Black Hills Region, 
Bull. 4, S. D. Sch. of Mines, (Rapid City, 1904). (Plates showing 
routes traveled and reproductions of early maps, valuable). 
The Bad Lands Formations of the Black Hills Region, Bull. 9, 
S. D. Sch. of Mines, (Rapid City, 1910), (An excellent bul- 
letin; mostly paleontological). 
The Cement Resources of the Black Hills, S. D. School of Mines, 

Bull. 8, (Rapid City, 1908). (A brief discussion). 
The Mineral Wealth of the Black Hills, S. D. Geol. Survey, Bull. 3, 
(Vermilion, 1902); this also is Bull, of the S. D. School of 
Mines. (A valuable paper). 
Over, W. H.: The Mollusca of Perkins and Harding Counties, N. W. S. D., 
Bull. 61, S. D. Geol. Surv., pp. 95, 96. 

Mollusca of South Dakota, The Nautilus, Nov. -Dec, 1915, pp. 79-81, 
90-95. 
Owen, J. A.: Dakota, a Province or a State?, (DeSmet, 1886). (An un- 
worthy threat). 
Parker and Campbell: Rept. of the National Conservative Commission, 

Vol. Ill, (Washington, 1909). (A most valuable report). 
Perisho, E. C: The Geology of Gregory and Trijop Counties, Bull. 4, S. D. 
Geol Surv., (Vermilion, 1908). (A good popular sketch). 
The Geology of Harding County, S. D., Science, Mar., 1911. (A 
brief summary). 
Polk, R. L. & Co.: Gazeteer for Minn, and Dak. for 1882, for 1883, for 
for 1912-13, (Detroit, 1882, 1883, 1912.) (The standard gazetteer). 
Pool, Raymond J.: A Study of the Vegetation of the Sandhills of Ne- 
braska, (Minneapolis, 1914). (A monograph of value). 
Pound and Clements: The Phytogeography of Nebraska, (Lincoln, 1900). 

(A very suggestive volume). 
R. R. Commissions of Terr, of Dakota: Annual Reports, 1885-89. (De- 
tailed reports). 
Ranson, F. L.: Dakota. The Sunshine State, (Mitchell, 1913). (An 

elementary school text on government and history). 
Reagen, A. B.: Lists of Plants and Animals Observed in Tripp County, 
Bull. 4, S. D. Geol. Surv., (Vermilion, 1908). (Of little value). 
The Geology of the Rosebud Reservation. Am. Geologist, 1905. 
Robinson, DeLorme: Editorial Notes on Historical Sketch of N. and S. D., 
S. D. Dept. of Hist., Coll. Vol. 1, (Pierre, 1902). (Detailed notes 
on many points). 
Robinson, Doane: A Brief History of South Dakota, (New York, 1905). 
(A story-history containing much of value). 
List of Books on S. D., S. D. Dept. of Hist. Col., Vol. VI., (Pierre, 

1912). (The books in the state library). ,:^ 

Papers Relating to the Divisions of Dakota, S. D. Dept. of Hist Coll., 

Vol. IV. 1908. (A short list). 
Outline of South Dakota's History, S. D. Dept of Hist., Coll., Vol. 
II, 1904. (A brief sketch prepared for the St. Louis exposi- 
tion). 
Rosen, Peter: Pahasapah, or the Black Hills of S. D., (St. Louis, 1895). 
(A book of value, containing much reprinted matter). 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 167 



Rydberg, P. H.: The Flora of the Black Hills, Contrib. U. S. Nat'l Mus. 

LII, (Washington, 1896). (A systematic treatment — technical). 
Salisbury, R. D.: Physiography (Advanced), (New York, 1908). (The 

leading text book of the subject). 

Salisbury, Barrows J. Tower: Elements of Geography, (New York). (An 
excellent text). 

Saunders, W.: A Catalog of the Flora of S. D., Bull. 64, U. S. Exp. 
Station, (Brookings, 1899). (A preliminary list — far from com- 
plete). 

Seton, E. E.: Life Histories of Northern Animals, (New York, 19 09). 

(Two very valuable volumes). 
Shambaugh, B. F.: Maps Showing the Boundary History of Iowa, la. 

Jour, of Hist, and Politics, Vol. 2, 1904. (Good series of maps 

with notes). 

The History of the Constitutions of Iowa. (A worthy book). 
Shantz, H. L.: The Short Grass Formation of Colorado, Bull. 201, 

Bureau of Plant Industry, Dept. of Agri., (Washington, 1911). 

(A valuable ecological study). 
Shelford, V. E.: Animal Communities in Temperate America as Illustrated 

by the Chicago Region, (Chicago, 1913). (The most important 

volume on animal ecology). 

Principles and Problems of Animal Geography, MSS. (Some excel- 
lent suggestions). 
Smith and Young: History and Government of S. D., (New York, 1904). 

(A fairly good book). 
Stockman, Wm. B.: Periodic Variation of Rainfall in the Arid Region, 

Bull. N., U. S. Weather Bureau, (Washington, 1905). (An official 

report of interest). 
Sweetzer, M. F.: King's Handbook of the U. S., (Buffalo, 1896). (Con- 
tains good descriptions of the states). 
Thwaites, R. J.: Mackinaw, Wise. Hist, Coll. Vol. XIV. (An excel- 
lent paper by an authority). 
Todd, J. E.: A Preliminary Sketch of the Geology of S. Dak., Bull. 1, 

S. D. Geol. Survey, (Vermilion, 1894). (Only recently superseded 

by Darton's bulletin). 

The Moraines of the Missouri Coteau and Their Attendant De- 
posits, Bull. 144, U. S. Geol. Surv., (Washington, 1896). (A 
fair technical paper). 

Misc. Papers on the Geol. of S. Dak., Bull. 2, S. D. Geol. Survey, 
(Vermillion, 1908). (Several valuable papers on bad-lands, 
wells and N. W. corner). 

The Moraines of Southeastern S. Dak. and Their Attendant De- 
posits, Bull. 158, U. S. Geol. Surv., (Washington, 1899). (A 
valuable technical report). 

The Geol. and Water Resources of Portions of Southeastern S. Dak. 
Water Supply Paper No. 34, U. S. Geol. Survey, (Washington, 
1900). (A valuable detailed study). 

The Hydrographic History of S. Dak., Bull. Geol, Soc. Am., Vol. XIII, 
(New York, 1901). (A good sketch, now in part superseded 
by his later work). 

Mineral Building Materials, Fuels and Waters of S. D., Bull. 3, 
S. D. Geol. Survey, (Vermilion, 1902). (A valuable paper 
of general interest). 

The Geol. and Water Resources of the Lower James Valley, Water 
Supply Paper 90, U. S. Geol. Surv., (Washington, 1904). (A 
detailed study). 



168 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

Geologic Folios for the Aberdeen-Redfield, Alexandria, DeSmet, Elk- 
point, Huron, Mitchell, Parker, and Olivet Quadrangles, U. S. 
Geol. Survevy, (Washington). (Detailed discussion of great 
local value). 
The Geology of the N. W. Central S. D., Bull. 4, S. D. Geol. Surv.. 

Vermilion, 19 08). (A good reconnaisance report). 
Glacial Channels in South Dakota, Bull. Geol. Soc. Am., Vol. 23, 

New York, 1911). (A suggestive paper). 
The Pleistocene History of the Missouri River, Science, Vol. 39, Feb., 
1914, (New York, 1914). (The vice-president's address A. A. 
Advancement of Science. Excellent). 
Turner, F. J.: The Rise of the Northwest. (A standard book). 
Upham, Warren: Glacial Lake Agassiz; Monograph XXV, U. S. Geol. 
Survey, (Washington, 1889). (A famous monograph — a little on 
South Dakota). 
U. S. Geol. Survey: Mineral Resources of the U. S., (Washington, An- 
nual). (Valuable statistics). 
U. S. Census. Reports, Bulletins, and Abstracts, (Washington, 186 0- 

1914.. (Authoritative). 
U. S. Senate and House Documents. 
The Congressional Globe, 1857. 
Annals of Congress. 
U. S. Weather Bureau: Monthly Summaries for Dist. 6, the Missouri 
Valley. 

Summaries of Climatological Data of the U. S. by Sections, Bull. W, 
(Washington, 1912). (Contains summarv for South Dakota 
1890-1908). 
Visher, S. S.: A List of the Birds of Western S. D., The Auk, Apr., 1909. 
The Plants of the S. Dak. Sand Hills, Anr. Botanist, 1912. 
Erosion in the Badlands of S. Dak., Jour, of Geography. 1912. 
Additions to the Flora of the Black Hills, L Torreya. IX. 1909; II. 

Muhlenbergia, VIII.; 1912; III. Muhlenbergia, IX. 1913. 
The Birds of Harding County, S. Dak.. The Auk, 1911, 1912, 1913. 

(Reprinted and supplemented in Bulletin 6). 
The Birds of Fall River Countv. Southwestern S. Dak., Wilson Bul- 
letin, Mar., 1912; Mar., 1913. 
The Birds of Sanborn County, S. Dak., The Auk, 1913 
The Flora of South-Central S. Dak., and Northwestern S. Dak., 

Muhlenbergia, IX. 1913. 
The Geog., Geol., and Biology of South-Central S. Dak., Bull. 5, S. D. 

Geol. Surv., (Vermilion, 1912). 
The Biology of Harding Countv. Northwestern S. Dak., Bull. 6, 

S .D. Geol. Survey, (Vermilion, 1914). 
The Birds of Clay Count", S. E. S. Dak., Wilson Bulletin, 1915. 
Warren, Lieut. G. K.: Prel. Rept. of Expl. in Neb. and Dak in the Years 
1855-57,; (Washington. 1875). Reprint from Appendix to Rept. 
of War Office for 1858. (Contains valuable reports of Hayden). 
Wilson, Frederick: Old Ft. Pierre and Its Neighbors. S. D. Dept. of 
Hist. Col, Vol. I, (Pierre, 1903). (A detailed narrative from 
official correspondence). 
Winchell. Alex. N.: Minnesota's Eastern, Southern and Western Boun- 
daries. Minn. Hist. Soc, Coll., Vol. X, St. Paul. (A good study). 
Winchester, D. E.: Crossbedding in the White River Formation of 
Northwestern S. Dak., .Tour of Geol., Vol. XXI, (Chicago, 1913). 
(Contains views of doubtful correctness). 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



169 




Fig. 38. Average Length of the Ciop Growing Season, in Days. 



170 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 




Fig. 39. The Largest Lignite Mine in the State, Near Strool. Perkins Co. 




Fig. 40. Range Horses at Water Hole, Fall River Co. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



171 





wutg^^^ 






iJHi i"iiift'iiMBHBi 


' __ 


***L_ Liiv 




Miiiifafl "i-^-.-^-'ir'-^ 





Fig. 41. TJie City of .Pierre from Acros.s the Missouri River. 







P 










^ 










lfe|gte| 


OT 


^^ 


. — 




S^S^H 


^il:z 



Fig. 42. A View of Rapid Cit.v showing the foothills in which the Dakota 
sandstone, of artesian well significance, outcrops. 



172 



THE 'GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 




Fig-. 43. The Missouri River Near Vermilion, S. D. 




FiR. _M. Leiid. S,. P., the largest city of the Black Hills and the site of th( 
Homestake Mine. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



173 




Fig-. 45. IMerre, Showing the Capital m the Distance. 




Fig-. 46. Aberdeen, looliing north from the Citizens Bank Building. 



174 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 




Fig. 47. A farm home near Aberdeen, and a part of an oat field which yielded 
70 bushels per acre. — Courtesy C. M. & St. P. R. R. Co. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



175 




Fig. 4^. .V wheat field near Mcintosh, in the northwestern quarter of the 
state. — Courtesy C. M. & St. P. R. PI. Co. 




Fig. 49. A general view In eastern South Dakota (Bath.) — Courtesy C. M. 
& St. P. R. R. Co. 



176 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 




Figr. 50. A wheat field near Webster in the northeastern quarter of the state. 
Courtesy C. M. & St. R R. R. Co. 




'Fig. 51. A t.vi)icalmixecr farming- home in North Central South Dakota. — 
I'hoto by J. W. Parmley, Ipswich, S. D. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



177 







Fig-. 52. Claim Shanty. 



Sig.— 12. 



South Dakota State Geological 
and Natural History Survey 

FREEMAN WARD, State Geologist 



BULLETIN 8 



The Geography 
of South Dakota 



BY 

S. S. VISHER 



Report of the State Geologist 
1916 — 1918 



UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 
VERMILION JULY, 1918 



University of South Dakota, Department of Geology, State Geological 
Survey, Vermillion, S. D. 

June 21, 1918. 
Regents of Education, 

Pierre, S. D. 
Dear Sirs: 

I have the honor herewith to submit my report to be published as 

bulletin number eight of the State Geological and Natural History Survey. 

It consists of two parts, — one is "The Report of the State Geologist 

for 1916-1918;" the other is the important and well prepared technical 

paper "The Geography of South Dakota" by S. S. Visher. 

Respectfully, 

FREEMAN WARD, 

State Geologist. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OP SOUTH DAKOTA 181 

BIENNIAL REPORT OF THE STATE GEOLOGIST 
1916-1918 



IXTROnrCTORV. 

The last report carried jthe Survey uj) to September 1st, 1916. The 
present report covers the activities of the Survey from that date to July 
1, 191S. The statistics, however, reach only to June 1, 1918, those for 
the month of June will be included in the succeeding report. 

The permanent staff of the Survey remains the same, — Freeman 
Ward as State Geologist, W. 11. Over as Naturalist. R. T. VanTuyl acted 
as field assistant during July and August, 1917. 

The work of the Survey will be considered under the following 
headings and in the order given, — Field Work, Service Bureau, Museum, 
Publications, Accessions, Relation of the Survey to the War, Miscellaneous 
Activities, Needs of the Survey. 

FIELD FORK. 

1916, — The work of the field season of this year v/as discussed in 
the preceding report. 

1917, — The State Geologist, starting out about the middle of June, 
spent a short time in Rapid City in conference with Prof. C. C. O'Harra 
on the War Minerals situation. He then went immediately to Mobridge 
to take up the main work of the season. Soon after the first of July 
he was joined by Mr. Over and Mr. VanTuyl. 

It was planned to survey the Missouri River and the territory im- 
mediately adjoining from the north part of the state down to Pierre. 
In order to make the trip possible a boat was built large enough for the 
party, equipment and supplies. In addition a light skiff was provided. 

Since the territory to be surveyed was in the gas belt of the state the 
State Geologist hoped that detailed examination might bring to light 
some positive information regarding oil. But only negative results were 
obtained throughout the entire course of the trip. Despite this, a con- 
siderable amount of valuable information was secured concerning the 
various geological conditions of the region. 

Mr. Over's work was twofold. He made a study of the plant and 
animal life to supplement the rather meager data we had of that area. 
In addition, he made a large number of archeological discoveries. His 
work of previous seasons had lead him to expect a series of ancient 
Arikara village sites at various points along the river. This proved to 
be the case. Tools, weapons, implements, of various sorts, ornaments 
and skeletal material were found in considerable quantity. 

'.V'hile camped soma miles below Mobridge word was received that 
oil was reported to have been found in wells at Mahto and Mcintosh, 
Corson County. Several of the business men of Mobridge, headed by Mr. 
B. S. Hill, were enough, interested in the affair to pay the expenses of 
the State Geologist for a special trip to these localities. Unfortunately 
the conditions did not turn out to be as favorable as they seemed to 
promise at first. 

The status of the oil problem of the state is given in outline in Cir- 
cular Number 1. 

Additional Trips, — Several short trips were taken outside of the 
regular field season. 

About the middle of December, 1916, a mastodon skeleton was re- 
ported found near Sioux Falls. Mr. Over went there to investigate. The 
bones proved to be only fragments of chalk rock. But since mastodon 



182 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



bones have been found in the state all reports need to be looked up 
whether they turn out to be favorable or not. 

During the latter part of December, 1916, the State Geologist at- 
tended meetings of the Association of State Geologists in New York City 
and Albany, N. Y. At that time he presented a paper on the "Geological 
History of South Dakota." 

In September, 1917, an old Indian grave was discovered near Cen- 
terville. Mr. Over made a trip there, recovered additional material, and, 
through the courtesy of Mr. A. A. Norgren, was able to have the whole 
find returned to the Museum. 

In November, 1917, Mr. Over investigated several Indian mounds 
near Madison and secured some good material. 

In April, 1918, a conference on War Minerals was held by the Asso- 
ciation of State Geologists with the U. S. Geological Survey and the U. 
S. Bureau of Mines at Washington, D. C. The State Geologist attended 
this meeting. 

Occasional short trips have been taken in the vicinity of Vermillion 
from time to time. 

SERVICE BUREAU. 

This important branch of the Survey work seems to be growing. 
A continually increasing number of inquiries has come in both from 
citizens of the state and from persons and companies in other parts of the 
country. A great variety of information is sought. Specimens of many 
kinds are sent in for identification. Some analytical work has been 
done through the Department of Chemistry of the University. 

Approximately 37 5 inquiries have been received and answered by 
mail. Personal talks with and advice from some one or the other of 
the Survey staff are of almost daily occurrence. 

The completeness of the answers given is determined by the amount 
of information on hand. Much of this can be gained only by field work. 
The more thoroughly the state is explored and mapped the better can 
the Survey serve the people. 

The Survey is finding that it can serve the producers of the state 
by centralizing the statistical information from their mines, mills and 
prospects. The producers are finding that the Survey, because of the 
centralization of data therein, is able to save them considerable clerical 
work and annoyance. This is one of the newer developments of the 
Service Bureau which promises to expand to much greater usefulness. 

The State Mine Inspector is cooperating in this matter also. 

MUSEUM. 

While the State Geologist is technically the Curator of the Museum 
yet the actual museum work — arranging, cataloging, preparation of 
exhibits, etc., etc.,^ — has been in the hands of Mr. Over who has been 
extremely successful in all phases of the work. 

The Museum is becoming an increasingly important factor in the 
educational achievements of the state. The collections of exhibit material 
are increasing. The specimens and other data are so classified that 
specific information along many lines is quickly available. That use is 
being made of the Museum is attested by the fact that there were ap- 
proximately 5000 visitors during the period. 

The total number of specimens acquired during the above period 
was approximately 2615. Most of these have been classified, catalogued 
and arranged for exhibition. 

Those deserving of special mention are the fine elk head donated by 
Mr. Bert S. Hill, Mobridge, S. D.; the mounted mammals and birds loaned 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 183 

by Mr. John Berens, Selby, S. D., and known as the "Berens Collec- 
tion." This comprises among other things, a buffalo, antelope and four 
deer. And of unusual interest is the large collection of Indian skeletons 
and artifacts collected by the State Survey along the Missouri River 
during July and August. 1917. This material is valuable not only in 
rounding out our Arikara and Mandan Indian collections, but also has 
aided in deciding, conclusively, doubtful questions pertaining to early 
Indian history in South Dakota. 

Below will be found a list of accessions. Except where otherwise 
indicated the specimens are donations. 

Hawk, Albert Omdahl, Burbank, S. D. 

Snake, Hog-nosed Adder, A. G. Warner, Clear Lake, S. D. 
Sioux Indian Skeleton with Flint Lock Gun and Necklace, A. A. Xor- 
gren, Centerville, S. D. 

LeSeuers Terrapin, George Lumley, Pierre, S. D. 

Collection of Plants, Prof. Walter Parish, Gary, S. D 

Avocet, Claude Crew, Interior, S. D. 

Old Mauser Rifie and Indian Arrow, Geo. F. Bower, Vermillion, S. D. 

10 Hematite Specimens, (Archaeology) Prof. R. W. Jones, U. S. D. 

2 Cherry Stone Crushers (Sioux) Robt. Lindley, Bonesteel, S. D. 

5 Box Terrapins, Wm. Palmier, Imlay, S. D. 
4 8 Bird Skins, F. A. Patton, Artesian, S. D. 

102 Mounted Mammals and Birds, John Berens, Selby, S. D. Loaned. 
Collection Sea Moss, Prof. A. L. Haines, U. S. D. 

4 3 Mounted Birds and one Mounted Skunk, John C. Green, Sioux 
Falls, S. D. 

6 Mounted Birds and one Weasel Mounted, O. C. Stanghar, Sioux 
Falls, S. D. 

3 Indian Skeletons, Beads and Stone Hammer, W. N, Gilbert, Mad- 
ison Pass, S. D. 

Snake, Hog-nosed Adder, J. C. Dawson, Vermillion, S. D. 

Old Lincoln Campaign Chart, Mrs. C. A. Wilson, Vermillion, S. D. 

Tarantula, Harlan Richardson, Vermillion, S. D. 

Spider, E. Puhr, Highmorei, S. D. 

Old Tin Lantern, C. A. Wilson, Vermillion, S. D. 

Shrew, Arthur A. Hale, Bison, S. D. 

Marine Shells, Walter Willey, U. S. D. 

Marine Shells, Miss Jesse Pangburn, Faulkton, S. D. 

Barnacles, V. E. Eastman, Sioux Falls, S. D. 

Skull, Clay County Court House Yard, Chas. Sunderling, Vermillion, 
S. D. 

Spinning Wheel and Reed, Loaned, Dr. Freeman Ward, U. S. D. 

6 Bird Skins, E. C. Eckert, Elk Point, S. D. 

Fragments Old Survey Stake, Lake County, Porter Lowery, U. S. D. 

Salamander, Dr. A. N. Cook, U. S. D. 

Snake, Hog-nosed Adder, C. J. Stringham, Sioux Falls, S. D. 

Snake, Red-bellied Snake, C. J. Stringham, Sioux Falls, S. D. 

Bull Snake, E. M. Hall, Pierre, S. D. 

Snake, Hog-nosed Adder, W. J. Chaussee, Vermilion, S. D. 

Lizzard, Red-headed, V. A. Luttio. 

Models of Road Beds (3) Dept. Civil Engineering, U. S. D. 

Indian Flint Knife and Fragments of Pottery, F. E. Ratcliff, Ver- 
million. S. D. 

Plant, Araucaria, Chris. Hansen, Vermillion, S. D. 

Ring-necked Pheasant, Roy Davis, Vermillion, S. D. 

Collection Grasses, A. E. Noyes, Redig, S. D. 



184 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 



Golden Eagle, A. E. Noyes, Redlg, S. D. 

Bird Skin, A. E. Noyes, Redig, S. D. 

Squirrel Nest, Frank Bardwell and M. Minich, U. S. D. 

Old Kentucky Rifle, Loaned, Prof. M. W.. Davidson, U. S. D. 

Old Revolver, Millard Purdue, Vermillion, S. D. 

Colts Revolver and Collection Sioux Indian Relics, Loan, Dr. Freeman 
Ward, U. S. D. 

Nest of Baltimore Oriole, E. D. Cowles, Vermillion, S. D. 

Specimen Gypsum, Prof. A. L. Haines, U. S. D. 

Whito Muskrat, Donald Harris and Lyle Swainson, Highmore, S. D. 

Porcupine Skin and Buffalo Bones, E. A. Sheldon, Vermillion, S. D. 

Indian Stone Hammer, R. E. Brown, Academy, S. D. 

Indian Stone Hammer, Porter Lowery, U. S. D. 

Indian Stone Hammer, H. L. Ferry, Vermillion, S. D. 

Indian Stone Hammer, Rev. P. J. Reinethsein, Elk Point, S. D. 

Young Muskrat, Dr. W. P. Jones, U. S. D. 

Indian Stone Tomahawk, Stone Hammer, Mortar, Buffalo Head, 2 
Clay Concretions, J. Martin Larson, Elk Point, S. D. 

Mcth, Polyphemus, Miss Villy Cleland, Vermillion, S. D. 

"Kissing Bug," Kedwidae, Mrs. Smith, Ft. Bennett, S. D. 

Goshawk Roy Jones, Vermillion, S. D. 

Goshawk, Roy Jones, Vermillion, S. D. 

Abnormal Pig, 3 Snakes, Buffalo Head, C. B. Gilbertson, Vermillion, 
S. D. 

Scorpion, Dick Willis, Andover, S. D. 

Collection Minerals, Wood Carving, Buffalo Horns, Fossils and Shells, 
Mrs. T. M. Goddard, Vermillion, S. D. 

Wood Carving by Ants in Norway, E. Ostland, Vermillion, S. D. 

2 Copper Coins, Waldo Graves, Vermillion, S. D. 
Dakota Sioux English Dictionary, E. F. Canaday, U. S. D. 
Cannon Ball, W. B. Smith, Vermillion, S. D- 

Cannon Ball, Cliff Hallas, Vermillion, S. D. 
Old Grain Cradle, Atty. A. B. Gunderson, Vermillion, S. D. 
Short-eared Owl. Kermit Davis, Vermillion, S. D. 
American Horned Owl, J. T. Christenson, Lake Preston, S. D. 
Snowy Owl, Andrew Boline, Centerville, S. D. 
Snowy Owl, Ole Dahl. Ideal. S. D. 
Snowy Owl, Harold Rice, Flandreau, S. D. 
Snowv Owl, Jerry Smit, Platte, S. D. 
Snowy Owl Alive, W. B. Smith, Mansfield, S. D. 

Pair of Black Ducks and Least Bittern, H. G. Taylor, Vermilion, S. D. 
Indian Baskets and Beaded Work, Loaned, W. Gray Tisdale, Sioux 
Falls, S. D. 

3 Indian Stone Hammers, Lars Larson, Elk Point, S. D. 

Old War Photo of Gen. Grant and Brig. -general J. McArthur, and 
others, H. L. Ferry. 

Elk Head Mounted, Bert S. Hill, Mobridge, S. D. 

American Horned Owl, Roy Davis. Vermillion, S. D. 

Black Rat and Red Bird, Mr. Spatz, Meckling, S. D. 

Chinese Coins, E. O. Sheldon, Vermillion, S. D. 

2 Indian Stone Hammers, C. B. Rosa, Forest City, S. D. 

Indian Beaded Ve«t and 2 Beaded Bags, Dr. B. F. Lockwood, Yank- 
ton, S. D. 

Bayonet, Battlefield of Bull Run, Loaned, Prof. W. M. Davidson, 
U. S. D. 

Mounted Deer Head, Deer Antlers and Indian Snow Shoes, changed 
from loan to donation by R. A. Morgan. Vermillion, S. D. 

Indian Stone Hammer, Mrs. Alice L. Overholser, Glenham, S. D. 

Indian Stone Hammer, 10 arrow points, R. H. Peterson, Mobridge, 
S. D. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 185 

Tarantula, J. H. Hartson, Vermillion, S. D. 

Moth, Walter Harrington, Vermillion, S. D. 

Golden Eagle, Am. Horned Owl, Loan, Vincent Conway, Westfield, 
Iowa. 

Crows Nest and Eggs, R. T. Van Tuyl, U. S. D. 

Polished Agate and 2 old Coins, Loan, Mrs. T. B. Thompson, Ver- 
million, S. D. 

Flax Fiber and old Bread Basket, President Slagle, U. S. D. 

Ox Bow, A. T. Kayser, Parkston, S. D. 

Coated Well Pipe Point, M. B. West, Vermillion, S. D. 

Plants and Sea Moss, Miss Mary Henderson, Calif. 

Indian Photographs, Arrow, Minerals, Cane and Indian Ores, Mrs. W. 
W. Allen, Vermillion, S. D. 

Irish Shillalah, Loaned, D. M. Eastman, Sioux Falls, S. D. 

Weasel, Edwin Harrington, Vermillion, S. D. 

Snow Goose, C. W. Over, Vermillion, S. D. 

Whitefronted Goose, C. J. Stringham, Sioux Falls, S. D. 

Copper Amulet, Worn by a Sioux Indian, James Hughes, Mobridge, 
S. D. 

White Mouse, Adolph Iverson, Vermillion, S. D. 

Collection of Algae, Dept. of Biology, U. S. D. 

Xest of Chimney Swift, Mortimer Herzberg, Jr., Vermillion, S. D. 

Hand-made Tools from the Philippine Islands, F. Ratcliff, Vermillion, 
S. D. 

Fossil Aggregation, A. N. Williams, Akron, Iowa. 

2 Sharks Eggs, Mrs. P. A Brink, Pensacola, Fla. 

Abnormal Pig, Guy Chamberlain, Vermillion, S. D. 

2 Porcupiners, Loaned, Geo. Butterfield, Pierre, S. D. 

Collection of Carboniferous Fossils, changed from a loan to a dona- 
tion by Dr. C. S. Thorns, U. S. D. 

Specimens added by the State Geological and Natural History Survey 
are as follows: 

22 Plants, 15 Bird Skins, 12 Snakes, 2 Mice, 4 Amphibia. 4 
Arikara Indian Skeletons and 30 extra Skulls, 2000 Flint, Stone, Bone 
and Shell Indian Implements and Ornaments. 3 Omaha (?) Indian 
Skeletons and Beads from a Mound at Madison Pass and 4 Omaha (?) 
Indian Skeletons from a Mound neiar Brule Creek, Union County. 

The following have been mounted for the Museum: 

Buffalo Skeleton, 2 Goldom Eagles, Lesser Snow Goose, American 
Horned Owl, Rabbit, Avocet, Least Bittern, Pair of Black Ducks, Pheasant, 
Nuthatch, Woodpecker, Brown Creeper, Muskrat, 7 Turtles, Weasel, Gar 
Fish, Sturgeon. 

Added to the Museum by exchange: 

5 Snakes and 3 Turtles. 

An effort has been made to keep for exhibition puri)Oses as many 
live animals as possible, but on account of no funds to purchase speci- 
mens nor to build suitable pens and buildings but little can be done. 
The following are on hand: 

1 Coyote, 2 Porcupines, 1 Alligator, 1 Snowy Owl, 2 River Turtles 
and 3 Land Terrapins, and B Snakes. 

One 2nd hand show caso and one new base with 30 large drawers 
have been added during the period. 

3 Arikara Indian Skeletons and 10 Skulls have been presented, and 
24 Skulls loaned to the United States National Museum for investigation. 

A number of Books and Bulletins have been loaned to individuals 
over the State who have been interested in subjects concerning Natural 
History. 

The limitations and needs of the Museum will be discussed in a 
later paragraph. 



186 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

PUBLICATIONS. 

A new series of publications— Circulars — has been started by the 
Survey. The reasons for this step are as follows: 

Often during the progress of the work enough information is at hand 
to be of value to those interested but not enough for a complete treatise. 
A part of a county may be finished, perhaps, and publication waiting on 
the complete investigation of the whole county. A problem under inves- 
tigation may take sefveral years to finish, yet certain phases of the inves- 
tigation may yield results sufficiently complete to be of value by them- 
selves. There may be a demand for statistical matter, or lists of refer- 
ences, or current information, etc., which would hardly do for a formal 
bulletin. Such partial reiports, summary reports, reports of progress, or 
lists, etc., are to be handled in the Circulars. The Bulletin is to be 
reserved for the more detailed and formal treatment of problems whose 
investigation is complete or practically so. It is planned to publish the 
Circulars frequently and the Bulletins at longer intervals. With this 
arrangement much information will reach the public with a minimum 
of delay. 

So far three Circulars have been issued, as follows: 

No. 1 — Oil in South Dakota. By Freeman Ward, Dec, 1917. 

No. 2 — South Dakota Fossils, hy Freeman Ward, Mch., 1918. 

No. 3 — 'Protect the Birds and Help Win the War, by W. H. Over, 
June, 1918. 

The manuscript on "The Geography of South Dakota" by S. S. 
VisheT, which has been on hand so long, is herewith attached for publi- 
cation as part of this bulletin. 

A new geological map of South Dakota on a scale of twelve miles 
to the inch has been ready in manuscript for a year and a half awaiting 
publication. 

A new base map of South Dakota on a scale of six miles to the inch 
has just been completed and is ready for publication. This map shows 
the county boundaries, drainage, railroads, county seats and many other 
towns, township and range divisions. It also shows the larger relief 
features by means of contour lines with a 500 foot interval. 

The manuscripts for a bulletin on Birds is nearing completion, will 
undoubtedly be ready for publication early in the fall. 

ACCESSIONS. 

In addition to the material listed under the Museum, about 65 purely 
geological specimens — rocks, minerals, fossils, etc., — have been col- 
lected by the Survey. 

Many publications — Federal, State, Foreign — are received constantly. 
They are not kept separate from those received by the Geological De- 
partment of the University but are included in the departmental library. 

REL/ATIOX OF THE SURVEY TO THE WAR. 

The raw materials of war, and without which our war program 
would have to stop, are the natural mineral resources of the country. 
They are commonly designated as "War Minerals." They have always 
been in demand even in times of peace. Much has usually been imported 
by this country. Now that we are at war overseas traffic is difficult and 
uncertain. Moreover, the Shipping Board is withdrawing ships from the 
trade in order to hasten the transportation of men, food, munitions, etc. 
As a result the importations have been much curtailed, they may be cut 
off entirely. And the demand for these minerals is much greater than in 
peace times. All of which means that the domestic supply will have to 
be very much increased and that with a minimum of delay. 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 187 

All the Federal Surveys and Bureaus and all the State Surveys are 
actively at work trying not only to speed up and increase the production 
from known deposits but also to discover new deposits. 

Early in April there was a conference at Washington, of the State 
Geologists with the U. S. Geological Survey and the U. S. Bureau of 
Mines. The War Minerals situation was gone over thoroughly at that 
time and further plans drawn up. 

It is regrettable to have to record that South Dakota, although the 
Survey has been in existence 2 5 years, has done so little to determine 
the kind and extent of its mineral resources that it is able to bring but 
a small amount of aid to our country at this time. We should have 
taken a complete inventory of our natural resources long before this. 
The fault has always rested with those in authority over the funds nec- 
essary for this extensive work. Each State Geologist has repeatedly 
urged the dire necessity for funds sufficient to maintain an adequate 
force of experts in active and continuous service. Neither regents nor 
legislators have had vision enough to see the connection between a 
geological survey and the needs of civilization. Now our country is 
facing a crisis in raw materials, — mineral resources — and South Dakota 
can help but little. This is because she does not know exactly what her 
resources are, for she has never maintained a Survey sufficiently well 
armed to attack the problem as it should be. 

Last season the State Geologist spent what time he could (he has 
to teach nine months of the year) in looking up that valuable resource, 
oil. This season he will be out again. There are no funds for employ- 
ing additional experts to hasten the work. 

Another war service of the Survey has been in the matter of birds. 
Protection of the birds means saving of crops and so increase our food 
supply. The Survey is urging this matter in Circular No. 3. 

The State Geologist has lectured twice on "The War Services of 
a Geologist." 

MIS( ELLAXEOl S ACTIVITIES. 

The clays collected in the Sioux Falls region were tested as far as 
our facilities allowed. Because of very limited equipment they had to be 
sent off for the most important tests. For this purpose they were sent 
to Prof. H. Ries of Cornell University who is one of the leading clay 
engineevs of the country. 

There came to the attention of the State Geologist a machine, 
"Barnes' Electric Water Purifier," which claimed to be a water softener 
and purifier. The matter of softening hard water is a serious problem in 
this state. So a machine was purchased and experiments run to test 
out its value in this connection. It did not perceptibly soften the water 
and was demonstrated to be very largely a fake. The agent handling 
the machine was notified of its limitations and seemed glad to learn the 
truth concerning the device. The chemical analyses involved in the tests 
were made in the laboratory of the State Food and Drug Department 
with the generous permission of the Commissioner, Mr. Guy G. Frary. 

At the suggestion of Mr. Over all those in the state interested in 
archeology were invited to attend a meeting held at Vermillion in the 
interests of that subject. A good attendance was realized and a number 
of papers were presented, two of them discussing South Dakota condi- 
tions, — "Pre-Historic Man in South Dakota," by W. H. Over. The 
State Geologist discussed the same subject from a geological standpoint. 

All the work so far reported, including prei)aration of manuscript 
for Circulars, papers, etc., and work on maps, has to be sandwiched in 
with the regular university duties during the school year. 

Mr. Over has given three lectures, — "Birds," Early Races of S. 
Dak.," "The State Survey and Museum." 



188 THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 

NEEDS OF THE SURVEY. 

As suggested under the topic "Relation of the Survey to the War," 
the Survey can do the best work and get results quickly only by main- 
taining an adequate staff of experts. This state is too large for one 
man to cover, especially when ho can be in the field but three months of 
the year. Nor can one man be an expert in all lines of geology. 

If experts are employed they must have suitable equipment, — labora- 
tory, instrumental, clerical, etc., — in order to be most efficient. One of 
the big aids to rapid and accurate field work is a topographic map. Such 
maps should be made with all possible dispatch so that the field work 
does not lag. There are many other uses for topographic maps than 
that for geological work (see Bull. 7, pp. 11, 12.) 

Even with the present staff of the Survey — Geologist and Naturalist — 
the results could be increased at least threefold if there was sufficient 
money for transportation and unskilled labor and other like aids. 

For instance. — Season before last the State Geologist did all his 
work on foot. A large share of his time was spent in getting to and 
from the work. An auto continually at hand would have enabled him 
to cover at least three times as much territory. 

Again, — Last season if we had had a house boat Mdth power instead 
of having to row, we would have covered at least three times as much 
territory with less exhaustion. 

Furthermore, unskilled labor can move and set up camp, rustle wood 
and water, cook, dig holes, etc., etc., as well as skilled labor. More- 
over, if an expert has to use part of his energy and time on manual labor 
and housekeeping, he has just that much less to apply to geology or 
natural history. 

One indication of the need for complete and extensive information 
concerning our resources is shown by the fa-ct that several business 
interests, with capital amounting to several hundred thousand dollars 
and desiring to build up industries around our resources, failed to locate 
in the state because the information was not sufficiently detailed to 
interest them. 

Another most important need is the taking care of what we have 
and making it more useful. I refer to the Museum. The Museum is 
housed in a part of Science Hall. This is a most flimsy building. It is in 
no ways fireproof, it is scarcely weatherproof. A large portion of the 
collections now reposing in the Museum could never be replaced if once 
lost. There are historical and archeological materials the only things 
of their kind in existence. Our Arkara material, which the Survey 
has collected through the untiring efforts of Mr. Over, is unique, there 
is nothing to equal it anywhere. The State Geologist within the last 
year visited the Field Museum in Chicago, the American Museum in New 
York City, and the National Museum in Washington. He finds after 
careful inquiry that our Museum has at least five times as much Arikara 
material as those three famous museums together. It is undoubtedly 
true that we have the best collection of such material in the world. It 
is the height of indiscretion to give such fine material so little protection. 
Moreover it shows a lack of business sense. We have other excellent 
specimens. We have loan collections for which we are responsible. I 
cannot too strongly emphasize the need for a modern fireproof structure 
for our Museum. 

The place we have for display is far too small. Such material as is 
now on exhibition would require twice the floor space to show it prop- 
erly. In addition, a large collection of botanical specimens that have 
been acquired through exchange with other State Universities, two col- 
lections of fossils, and several hundred Indian implements and relics are 
all stored in boxes and drawers for lack of room to display. Display 



THE GEOGRAPHY OF SOUTH DAKOTA 189 

cases and floor space is needed for collections illustrating the products of 
South Dakota. * 

The Museum has reached that stage of growth where the Mammals, 
Birds and Ethnological material should be displayed by the effective 
group system, not only to keep pace with other Museums but also to 
satisfy the demands of the public that use the Museum for educational 
purposes. 

New and better cases are needed. 

At least $500.00 should be available each year to purchase rare 
specimens, to fill out incomplete collections, and to send competent col- 
lectors after specimens, either in or out of the state, that are becoming 
rare and more difficult to obtain year by year. An equal amount should 
be spent annually to build up the live animal exhibit. 

$50.00 should be at the disposal of the Museum each year to pur- 
chase much needed books pertaining to Natural History, and especially 
Bulletins, Reports, and Proceedings of scientific organizations of the 
United States that can be procured only by purchase. Rei)orts and 
published proceedings that are particularly necessary are those of the 
Philadelphia Academy of Science and the Carnegie Institute, as well as 
U. S. Biological Reports that are out of print. 

Funds are also needed for publication. The maps and bird bulletin 
prepared in response to a general call for them, are cases in point. 

Collections of South Dakota minerals, rocks, plants, animals are 
desired in the high schools and other educational institutions of the state. 
The Survey can get these out when funds for this purpose are available. 

In view of the pressing needs of the Survey and the great opportunity 
it has to further the interests of the State and also aid the country in 
this time of w'ar, it is hoped that a very generous appropriation will be 
urged. 



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